


The Palace of Chaos

by ErinPrimette



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christianity Extremism, Crime Scenes, Eventual Smut, Execution, F/M, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki Feels, Loki Has Issues, Loki Redemption, Loss of Virginity, Mary Sue, Murder, Murder Mystery, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Odin's Good Parenting, Original Character Objects to Loki Doing What He Wants, Other, Parody, Religious Fanaticism, Sassy Odin, Swimming Pools, Trials, Wet Dream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-27 11:57:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 34
Words: 59,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5047594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinPrimette/pseuds/ErinPrimette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Mary Sues and Gary Stus find themselves trapped in a palace, and the only way out is to commit murder. Our heroes, Ivy and Phoebe, have been assigned an objective of their own by Loki, the mastermind of this death game. What could he be accomplishing by pitting the Mary Sues against each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mystery Man at the Library

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DoubleDeeEddBoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoubleDeeEddBoy/gifts), [PrincessAmerica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessAmerica/gifts), [itspixiesthings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itspixiesthings/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently got into Dangan Ronpa thanks to the Let's Dub Project on Youtube, and I thought I could repay them by writing this tribute fanfic based on the game, with Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe taking the role of Monokuma. Upupu~!

Now that Ivy Spade has finished the final exam on the last class of the day for this semester, she figured it would be a good idea to stop by the library and hang out until her best friend Phoebe arrived. Once Ivy was in the library, she searched the bookshelves for mythology. Last time she was at the library, she read a book relating to Greek Mythology. After a brief while of searching, she pulled out a book about Norse Mythology, which she enjoyed the most. She stepped from the bookshelf and sat down at a lounge chair and after she set down her bag, she started reading the book. Little did she know, a man with black hair and green eyes took interest in her. Ivy spent the next few minutes reading until the man stood up and approached her.

"That's an interesting book you got there," he commented.

Ivy snapped her head at the man, startled.

"Uh, thanks!" stammered Ivy, "it's about Norse Mythology."

"Please," scoffed the man, "I've read that before and some of the content is ridiculous."

"Why do you say that?" asked Ivy.

The man gave Ivy a blank stare.

"Never mind," sighed Ivy, "why are you here?"

"I am searching for any college students studying to become criminal investigators," explained the man.

Ivy gasped in surprise, since she understood what this strange man was referring to.

"Really?" warbled Ivy in a quiet tone since they're in the library, "I'm studying to become a criminal investigator!"

Ivy set down the book on the table and pulled out her forensics textbook from her bag before showing it to the man.

"I only have one year to go before I get my degree," continued Ivy.

"Interesting," mused the man, "so what compels you to study such a field?"

"Well," admitted Ivy, "I want to be able to put rapists to justice since this stupid rape culture is preventing the victims from getting justice."

"In that case," smiled the man, "I hope you fulfill that goal."

The black-haired man placed his hand on her shoulder.

"And I wish you luck," he continued.

"Well, thank you, sir," chirped Ivy.

"You're welcome," replied the man, "I must be going."

The black-haired man put away his book and stepped out of the library, leaving Ivy to continue reading the book on Norse Mythology. After half an hour, she closed the book and returned it to its bookshelf. She then packed up her bag and left the library, where she could see her best friend, Phoebe, waiting for her.

"Hey, Ivy!" called Phoebe.

"How did your class go?" asked Ivy.

"I passed my finals," answered Phoebe, "and now we're done for this semester. Ready to go back to the apartment?"

"Yeah," nodded Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe wandered around the campus to find their car, but suddenly, they noticed a bunch of fundamentalists gathering in the square. They were holding up signs that would offend an atheist. Among them, a red-haired teenage boy held up his Bible and stepped forward.

"Everyone!" announced the teenage boy, "you must confess your sins and stand against gay marriage before God! His words are truth! He is judging you for premarital sex, and he is judging you for masturbating! He is judging you for tolerating gays!"

The teenage boy turned his head at a young teenage girl with long blond hair and blue eyes.

"Sara Osborne," beckoned the teenage boy, "tell everyone about your mission from God."

Sara stepped forward and faced the crowd, who appeared to be mocking these religious nutjobs.

"I've been chosen by God to stop the gay agenda," said Sara, "marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman, and nothing else! And God is angry at the liberal justices for legalizing gay marriage, and if you don't give up being feminists, he will send you to hell!"

Ivy and Phoebe couldn't help but burst into laughter at the stupidity of the speech.

"If God hates feminists," whispered Phoebe, "then why hasn't he struck them with lightning?"

"Maybe he doesn't care," assumed Ivy.

Meanwhile, the black-haired man from the library appeared in the crowd and began glaring at the religious teenage boy and Sara spewing their religious crap. Of course, he knew that Sara was a Mary Sue, one of the many enlisted by this religious fundamentalist organization.

"God is going to send every single human to hell," warned Sara, "if you don't join us and convert to Christianity! We must start believing God if we want to survive!"

Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Phoebe," beckoned Ivy, "let's leave them to whine about bullshit."

"Right," nodded Phoebe.

Ivy and Phoebe wandered toward the parking lot and hopped into their small car. They drove out of the campus and down the road until they reached their apartment. When they reached the front door, they noticed handwriting on it.

"Uh, Ivy," asked Phoebe, "do you think someone wrote graffiti on our door?"

"Who knows?" answered Ivy, "we could wash it off."

Ivy took a closer look at the handwriting, wondering what the message could be:

"Gather at the park at six thirty this evening."

"I wonder who could've written this," commented Phoebe.

"Maybe we should go check out the park this evening," suggested Ivy, "there might be something interesting going on."

Nodding in agreement, Phoebe typed down the message in her notes of her smart phone. Ivy unlocked the front door and opened it before beckoning Phoebe inside. Both young women set down their bags and set off to charge up their smart phones while they flipped the TV on to the news. Ivy sat down on the couch to watch the news as Phoebe went to the kitchen and hunted for a frozen dinner in the freezer. She popped the frozen dinner into the microwave as Ivy observed the interviewer conversing with one of the members of the religious fanatics, who turned out to be Sara.

"So why do you think this Mighty Forces of the Holy Church is a glimmer of hope for mankind?" asked the interviewer.

"Because when God created the Earth six thousand years ago," answered Sara, "he made sure good would always triumph over evil!"

"Let me explain that there is no way to tell which person is good and which person is evil," replied the interviewer, "and scientists have proved that Earth is billions of years old."

"Well, they are wrong," snapped Sara, "they're just using liberal bias to lie to the people and undermine the word of God!"

After a few moments, Phoebe finished heating up her frozen dinner and she pulled it out of the microwave.

"Ok, Ivy," called Phoebe, "microwave's yours!"

Ivy stood to her feet and entered the kitchen to pull out a frozen dinner of her own. She heated it up in the microwave and joined Phoebe at the dining room table, where they started eating their dinners. They continued to watch the news, where the interviewer was now conversing with the leader of the religious organization.

"Earlier this month," said the interviewer, "you said that someone infiltrated your organization's headquarters. Could you clarify?"

"We used to have a relic that allows us to travel to other worlds," explained the religious leader, "and we could use it to find Heaven. We even found some new members this way. However, earlier this month, the relic brought in a strange man holding some sort of scepter and he stole the relic from us before escaping with it. We tried to get every law enforcement agency to catch this guy, but we had no luck in finding him."

"I'm sorry for your loss," replied the interviewer.

"Maybe the thief didn't want these nutjobs to use this relic to control other people," assumed Phoebe.

"Good point," agreed Ivy.

It was only a short while before Ivy and Phoebe finished their dinners. Ivy turned off the TV and she set off to gather her items into her handbag. She and Phoebe took care to secure the apartment before stepping outside and locking the door.

"Ok," announced Phoebe, "maybe we should head for the park. There might be something interesting going on."

"Right," nodded Ivy.

As Ivy and Phoebe left the apartment, neither of them noticed the black-haired man emerging from the corner and using his magic to seal off their apartment. Ivy and Phoebe hopped into the car and drove down the road until they reached the parking lot. They hopped out of the car and locked it before heading for the park. They wandered around until they reached the fountain, where they could see other people gathering there. Among these people are Sara and the red-haired teenage boy, and there was a teenage girl with blue hair and silver eyes, a teenage girl with black, purple and red hair wearing gothic apparel, a young woman with brown eyes and wearing a dress that reached her ankles and had Triforce features, a blond teenage girl with massive breasts, an ugly chubby guy, a frat boy, two teenage girls with brown hair arguing over someone and a teenage boy with light brown hair and golden eyes.

"I guess we're not the only ones who got the message," commented Ivy.

The other people glanced at Ivy and Phoebe.

"Are you members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church?" asked Sara.

"Uh, no," stammered Phoebe, "we'd rather not get involved with religious crap."

"Are you kidding?" protested the chubby guy, "the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church is the greatest covenant of God! If you join, you will go to heaven."

"Ok," requested Ivy, "before we enter a religious debate, can we at least hear your names?"

"I'm Sara Osborne," answered Sara.

"Jonas Xander Devereaux," added the red-haired teenage boy.

"Nathan Quentin Uberto Emerentius," said the chubby guy.

"Keanu Baden Haviland Hunter," added the frat boy.

"Jenna Silverblade."

"Giselle Yvonne Delacroix."

"Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way."

"Atlantiana Rebekah Loren," answered the teenage girl with massive breasts, "but you can call me Tiana or maybe Tiaa."

"Joan St. Sanctuary Louisa-Smith."

"Bella Swan."

"Edward Cullen."

"Ok then," announced Ivy, "I'm Ivy Spade and this is my colleague, Phoebe Collins."

"Nice to meet you," added Phoebe.

"Did you get the same message as we did?" asked Ivy.

"Well, duh," nodded Ebony.

"But we haven't found anyone who could've sent the message," objected Jenna.

"Maybe it's a lame-ass prank," assumed Keanu.

"Whoever he is," replied Phoebe, "he's probably late."

Ivy, Phoebe and the members of the religious organization waited around for a while, hoping the messenger would show up, until suddenly...

"Ivy," exclaimed Phoebe, "the fountain!"

Ivy turned her head at the fountain, which began glowing for some reason. This also caught the attention of the Mary Sues and Gary Stus as it grew brighter and brighter. In a matter of seconds, the fountain emitted a burst of energy that hit everyone, and the world seemed to fade to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case anyone was wondering, Jenna Silverblade is from My Inner Life, which is a Legend of Zelda fanfic. Giselle Yvonne Delacroix is from A song of fire and iron, a Transformers fanfic. Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are both from Twilight. Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way is from My Immortal, a Harry Potter fanfic. Atlantiana Rebekah Loren is from Forbiden Fruit: the Tempation of Edward Cullen, a Twilight fanfic. Sara Osborne is from Supper Smash Bros: Mishonh From God, a Super Smash Bros fanfic. Joan St. Sanctuary Louisa Smith is from Brewdening Love, a Twilight fanfic. Jonas Xander Devereaux, Keanu Baden Haviland Hunter and Nathan Quentin Uberto Emerentius are just original additions. Ivy Spade and Phoebe Collins are actually the main heroes of this story.


	2. Welcome to the Palace

Ivy slowly opened her eyes, noticing that she was having a headache. She found herself lying on the floor in the foyer, and she could even see Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus also lying on the floor. Ivy got to her feet and wandered around the foyer, trying to figure out her new surroundings. She waited for several minutes as Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus woke up and got to their feet one by one.

"God," asked Ebony, "where are we?"

"Or better yet," replied Giselle, "how did we get here?"

Ivy reached down to try to pull out her smart phone, only to realize that she doesn't have her handbag.

"What?!" exclaimed Ivy.

Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus checked for their bags, only to find that they're missing.

"Oh no," gasped Sara, "someone took our bags!"

"We have to get out of here!" panicked Atlantiana.

Atlantiana burst through the front doors and sprinted outside, compelling the others to follow her. They ended up in the courtyard, which seemed to have an elaborate fountain in the center surrounded by a beautiful garden. They didn't pay attention to such details as they continued to sprint toward the gate, which was apparently closed. Atlantiana struggled to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"What the fuck?" warbled Atlantiana, "we can't get out!"

"It looks like we are stuck here," sighed Phoebe.

"What should we do?" demanded Bella.

"We'll have to pray to God to save us from this place," suggested Jonas.

"Uh, guys," objected Ivy, "I don't think prayers are going to be helpful in this situation."

"Are you sure?" pestered Joan, "God is good at miracles."

"And what if he can't hear you?" insisted Phoebe.

"Maybe these girls are right," sighed Edward, "we should head back inside until we can figure a way out."

Phoebe and Ivy took a few moments to study the building, which appeared to be an elaborate palace in the middle of a valley.

"Will we find answers inside this...palace?" asked Nathan.

"I hope so," nodded Keanu.

Ivy and Phoebe led the Mary Sues and Gary Stus back into the palace, where they gathered in the foyer.

"I guess the best option we could do is check out this palace," suggested Jenna, "maybe we can find a key to the gate."

"And that would help us get out of here?" clamored Giselle.

"Hold on," paused Phoebe, "even if we succeeded in escaping this palace, we would have to travel through the valley to find a way back home."

"Maybe you're right," sighed Bella.

Ivy thought over the situation for a moment, trying to piece together the string of events.

"I think I understand what happened," said Ivy, "the messenger told us to gather at the park and lured us into a trap, and then he kidnapped us and brought us here."

"Really?" chirped Sara, "you're so good at solving mysteries!"

"Why, thanks," chuckled Ivy, "Phoebe and I are studying to become criminal investigators, so it's pretty much second nature."

Before anyone else could respond, they all heard a high pitched sound coming from the speakers arranged along the walls near the ceilings.

"May I have your attention please?" announced the mysterious voice over the intercom, "I am now ready to hold an entrance ceremony, so assemble in the ballroom immediately."

"Who could it be?" paused Giselle.

"He sounds British," commented Nathan.

"Whoever it is," replied Jonas, "we can't keep him waiting."

"You're right," agreed Phoebe, "we should find the ballroom."

Ivy, Phoebe, Jenna, Ebony, Giselle, Atlantiana, Sara, Joan, Bella, Edward, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan wandered through the hallway on the first floor since they couldn't access the second floor yet...until they found the doors to the ballroom. Once they were inside, they noticed that it seemed pretty dark.

"Ugh," groaned Ebony, "I can't see a thing!"

"I wish we had flashlights," muttered Keanu.

"Maybe there's a light switch somewhere," replied Bella.

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus searched the ballroom, trying to avoid bumping into each other in an effort to find a light switch, when suddenly…

"Humanity," announced the mysterious voice, "look how far you fallen...gathering together in the dark...like beasts!"

"Who's that?" whispered Giselle.

Suddenly, the chandelier lit up as if it were magic, instantly lighting up the room. Ahead, they could see a black-haired man clad in black, green and gold, and he had a scepter in his hand. Ivy gasped in surprise when she focused her eyes on him.

"I know that guy!" exclaimed Ivy, "I met him in the library!"

"Interesting," commented Phoebe.

"Is that the guy with the British accent?" pondered Atlantiana.

"Something fishy is going on," muttered Edward.

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus kept their gaze on the black-haired man as he smirked. Could he be the one who sent them the message to gather at the park? Ivy had a sneaky suspicion that this guy was up to no good.

"I am Loki," he announced, "of Asgard...and I'm burdened with glorious purpose!"

"Loki?" paused Ivy, "as in...the Norse God of Mischief?"

"The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power," continued Loki, "and I am the king of this palace in which you will be staying in for the rest of your lives."

"What?!" exclaimed Giselle.

"You're kidding, right?" protested Edward.

"What about our families?" reminded Jonas.

"I wanna go home!" whined Sara.

"I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Phoebe.

Ivy took a few steps closer to Loki, catching his attention.

"So it was you who brought us here," accused Ivy, "wasn't it?"

Loki let out an ominous chuckle, sending a chill down Ivy's spine.

"You are wise...for a mortal," nodded Loki, "you see, it is our hope that you will maintain order and dwell together in friendship and harmony. But of course, there's no need to worry, as we have the means to keep you comfortable during your stay."

"God will liberate us from this palace," declared Jonas.

"You might want to think again, mortal," warned Loki, "as this palace is in a different realm far from Midgard, so you might want to forget about that realm. You can try to open the gates, but even if you succeed, I have placed a barrier to keep you inside. Scream all you want...no one will come to liberate you."

"Please tell me that this is a joke," demanded Ebony.

"It seems that you don't trust me," commented Loki, "I may be good at lying, but I assure you that this is the truth."

"You have to let us out of here!" begged Jenna, "my husband could be worried about me right now!"

"You gathered at the park on your own free will, and yet you still want to leave this palace?" paused Loki, "well, in that case, there is only one way out."

"Please tell us!" pleaded Joan, "we'll try anything!"

"There is a special system for anyone who wishes to leave," answered Loki, "and I call it ascension."

"Ascension?" pondered Ivy.

"As I said," explained Loki, "you are responsible for maintaining order within the palace, and should someone destroy that order, they will be allowed to leave."

"How?" demanded Atlantiana.

"What do you mean?" pestered Edward.

"That would be...murder," answered Loki.

"Murder?!" exclaimed Ivy.

"What I mean is...you can't leave unless you kill someone," clarified Loki.

Loki glanced at Ivy and Phoebe.

"Although I have a different objective for Ivy and Phoebe," continued Loki.

"What's the objective?" clamored Ivy.

"You see," explained Loki, "you two are the star detectives of the palace, and your role is to investigate the murders in the palace. But if you two wish to join the game of murder, be my guest. I won't stop you."

Ivy froze in fear, realizing that Loki's plan appeared to be rather sadistic...almost evil.

"I've had enough of this!" shouted Giselle, "if you're not going to let us out of here, I will make you!"

Without warning, Giselle transformed into a giant white wolf and tackled Loki to the ground, catching him off-guard as he struggled to free himself.

"What do you think you're doing?!" demanded Loki, "it's against the rules to attack the king!"

"Shut up!" roared Giselle, "you have five seconds to let us go or I will rip your head off!"

In a last ditch effort, Loki aimed his scepter and fired a beam at Giselle, knocking her off of him and sending her crashing into the ground, eliciting a yelp of pain. Seconds later, Giselle reversed back into a human as Loki staggered back to his feet.

"All of you are beneath me!" spat Loki, "I am a god, you dull creature! And I will not be bullied by mortals like yourselves!"

Loki stepped towards Giselle as she struggled to get back to her feet, glaring at her.

"You can't just go around breaking the rules," warned Loki, "I'll let this one go with just a warning, but if you do this again, there will be heavier consequences! You should be more careful next time, you mewling quim!"

Loki took several steps ahead of Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus.

"How come there aren't any guards around?" asked Nathan.

"I can teleport myself to anywhere I please," explained Loki, "and there are surveillance cameras installed throughout the palace to make sure you don't break the rules. In the meantime..."

Loki flicked his hand, and then small tablets that resembled iPads magically appeared on the floor.

"I'd like you to have these identification tablets," continued Loki, "each one contains your name, your personal information as well as the list of regulations in the palace. You can also find a map of the palace stored in these tablets. Of course, they are waterproof and durable. I must advise you not to lose them. Lost and found stations are placed all over the palace for you to use in the event you lose your tablet."

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus took a few moments to search for their own identification tablet, taking care to ensure they found the right one for each.

"I suppose this concludes our assembly," concluded Loki, "you are all dismissed."

Loki stepped towards the exit of the ballroom and left through the door, leaving Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus bewildered. Is there no way out of the palace now?


	3. Home Sweet Palace

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus stood around, pondering over the situation that they're in now. They never thought they would be trapped in this palace until they commit murder, and it was bad enough that this Loki set up the whole thing.

"Is this what God planned for us?" asked Jonas.

"I don't think so," answered Joan, "we can't just commit murder or God will judge us!"

"At least God can send the gays and lesbians to hell," shrugged Sara.

Phoebe glared at Sara, much to her confusion.

"Sara," scolded Phoebe, "you do realize that was homophobic, right?"

"I still hate the idea of spending our whole lives here," mentioned Giselle, "I want to be with my sun and stars right now!"

"Guys, calm down and listen to me!" exclaimed Ivy.

Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus stopped bickering and glanced at Ivy.

"I know we might not be able to escape easily right now," said Ivy, "and this situation may be terrifying, but the least we should do is try to cope with it."

"And how are you planning to do that?" asked Edward.

"First off," suggested Ivy, "we should check the rules of the palace. We don't want to invite another spectacle like the one we witnessed."

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus turned on their identification tablets and scrolled to the list of regulations before reading them carefully:

_"1: The guests are to live their lives in the palace...permanently."_

_"2: The period from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. is designated nighttime. Certain areas are off limits during this time."  
_

_"3: Sleep is only permitted in the dormitories. Deliberate use of any other room will result in considerable disciplinary action."_

_"4: You are free to investigate the palace."_

_"5: Violence against the king, Loki, is prohibited."_

_"6: Destruction of the surveillance cameras is strictly prohibited."_

_"7: The villain who kills one of his fellow guests will be allowed to ascend, provided his crime is not betrayed to the other guests."_

_"8:_ _Guests are prohibited from assaulting or murdering the detectives of the palace. Violators will face a severe penalty without the need for investigation."_

Scratching her head, Bella leaned closer to Edward, catching his attention.

"Edward," asked Bella, "what do you think the seventh rule means?"

Edward scrolled to the seventh rule and took a moment to read it.

"I guess Loki meant that you have to kill in such a way that nobody finds out it was you," answered Edward.

"And how do I pull that off?" inquired Bella.

"We'll have to stick with whatever rules he gave us," sighed Edward.

"Should we start exploring the palace?" clamored Sara.

Ivy checked the time on her identification tablet and figured out that they wouldn't have enough time to explore the palace tonight.

"I don't know, guys," warned Ivy, "it's almost nighttime. Maybe we should find our dormitories and get some rest. And then tomorrow morning, we find the kitchen and make some breakfast before we begin our exploring. Does that sound like a plan?"

"I get the dormitory part," nodded Jonas, "but only the women should do the cooking. After all, their place is in the kitchen."

"I agree," agreed Nathan.

"That's just sexist!" snapped Ivy.

"We should get going," reminded Phoebe.

Ivy, Phoebe, Bella, Edward, Joan, Atlantiana, Sara, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan stepped out of the ballroom and searched the first floor of the palace until they found the dormitories in the east hall. They checked the nameplates on the doors to find the correct room, and when Ivy found hers, she opened the door and stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and carefully examined her room. There was a simple bed at one corner of the room and there was a notebook on the desk. There was also a door to what appeared to be her own bathroom. Ivy opened the bathroom door and took notice of the toilet, the sink, and the shower stall. She stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door before focusing her eyes on a key that was sitting on the table in the center of the room. This key also had a keychain with her name on it. Ivy was about to pick up the key when she noticed there was a note laying next to it. She picked up the note and carefully read it:

"An important message from your king, Loki: Room locks have been equipped with an anti-picking mechanism. Keys are quite painful to make, so be sure that you don't lose yours, and in the event you do, consult a lost and found station. Every room comes with a shower, but water will be shut off during nighttime. Each bathroom door can be locked from the inside, so don't lock yourself out. Lastly, I have prepared a gift for each of you, both male and female mortals are given a tool set and a sewing kit, which you will find in your drawers as well as apparel you can wear during your stay."

Just as Ivy set down the note, she heard the sound of bells ringing over the intercom.

"Nighttime is now in effect," announced Loki over the intercom, "please be aware that the courtyard and the cinema room are off limits during this time."

Sighing, Ivy checked the drawers and pulled out a set of pajamas. When she slipped out of her clothes and tossed them into the laundry hamper, she glared at the surveillance camera, irritated that she couldn't destroy it for the sake of her own privacy. Once she finished slipping into her pajamas, she lay down on her bed and drifted off to sleep, looking forward to get to know more about her surroundings tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, Ivy slowly got off her bed just as she heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"Arise, my fellow mortals," announced Loki over the intercom, "for morning has arrived."

Ivy slipped out of her pajamas and found a set of clothes from the drawers that she could wear during the day. After putting on her clothes, she grabbed her identification tablet and her room key before stepping outside, only to find Loki waiting for her.

"Loki?" warbled Ivy, "what are you doing here?!"

"I saw that you forgot to lock your door last night," explained Loki.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Ivy.

"If you value your life," warned Loki, "then wouldn't it be wise for you to lock your door to prevent intruders?"

Ivy gave Loki a blank stare.

"You came here just to tell me that?" stammered Ivy.

"You are free to invite guests into your dormitory," admitted Loki, "but not taking precautions could easily put you in danger."

Loki placed his hand on Ivy's shoulder, sending a chill down her spine.

"Just keep that in mind, will you?" advised Loki.

Ivy didn't say anything, but she nodded. Satisfied, Loki left the hallway, so Ivy used the map in her identification tablet to locate the dining hall and step inside. There, Jenna and Bella were bringing out pancakes, bacon and sausage from the kitchen and set the platters down on the table. Ivy, Phoebe, Jenna, Bella, Edward, Giselle, Joan, Atlantiana, Ebony, Sara, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan proceeded to serve themselves and sat down at the table, and after they served themselves some orange juice, tea, milk and coffee, they started eating.

"Thanks, Jenna," chirped Ebony, "and you, too, Bella!"

"You're welcome," smiled Jenna.

As they were eating, Ivy took notice of Loki sitting in the corner of the dining hall drinking his tea while reading a book. Somehow, she figured that she should do whatever it takes to find out the motivation behind his scheme and what he intended to gain from making the Mary Sues and Gary Stus participate in this death match. Once Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus finished eating, Jenna, Bella and Sara set the dishes on the counter in the kitchen before returning to the dining hall.

"Ok," announced Phoebe, "since we're up for the morning, we start exploring the palace. After all, we do need to get to know our surroundings since we have to stay here."

"I guess that means we're going to split up," agreed Giselle, "where should we meet after we finish recon?"

"How about the courtyard?" suggested Ivy.

"Sounds like a plan," nodded Jonas.

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus split up and began exploring the palace. However, they still weren't able to access the second floor, so they figured that they would simply explore the first floor for now. Ivy stepped out into the courtyard and began exploring it. Since she can't get through the gate, she paid more attention to the fountain in the center of the courtyard as well as the garden surrounding it. Within the courtyard, there were statues of Loki scattered all over, especially two at either side of the front doors. Ivy recognized some of these flowers in the garden from Earth, while other flowers appeared exotic to her. She personally wished there was a library so she could look up these flowers in an effort to identify the ones in the garden. Now that she finished surveying the courtyard, she decided to sit on the bench near the fountain and wait for the others to emerge from the palace.

An hour or so later, Phoebe, Bella, Edward, Joan, Atlantiana, Sara, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan emerged from the palace and found Ivy on the bench near the fountain, compelling her to stand up and beckon them closer.

"Ok," chirped Ivy, "now that you guys are here, what did you find?"

"Besides the ballroom, the kitchen and the dormitories," explained Phoebe, "we also found the infirmary, the cinema room, the laundry room, the garbage disposal and an elevator. I wasn't able to use the elevator, though."

"There were also a couple storage rooms on the first floor," added Giselle, "and there are also lost and found stations just like Loki said. If only my sun and stars were human, he would love to live in this palace with me."

"So who is this sun and stars you're talking about, Giselle?" pondered Ivy.

"Optimus Prime," answered Giselle.

"Don't you mean the leader of the Autobots from Transformers?" objected Phoebe.

"In another dimension, probably," shrugged Bella.

"So how did you get in the real world?" asked Ivy.

"The Mighty Forces of the Holy Church invited us to their world by using that relic which someone stole from them a month ago," explained Jenna, "I hope they recover it, soon."

"Who cares whether they find it or not?" snapped Ebony, "this is a murder fest we're talking about!"

"I guess you guys weren't able to find a library?" assumed Ivy.

"No, not at the moment," admitted Jonas, "we couldn't even find a church room so we could pray to God."

"I'm pretty sure Asgardians aren't Christians," mused Ivy.

"Asgardians?" paused Atlantiana.

"If you did research on Norse Mythology," clarified Ivy, "you would know what I'm talking about."

"For one thing," said Jenna, "the infirmary has plenty of medical supplies, but I wish we knew if there are any healers here."

"When I checked the kitchen this morning," added Bella, "Loki told me that the pantry and the refrigerator frequently restocks on food."

"I wonder where he even gets the food," pondered Edward.

"I couldn't find any DVDs in the cinema room," sighed Keanu, "what a buzzkill!"

"The laundry room has plenty of cleaning stuff we can use to wash our laundry," mentioned Sara.

"So what did you find, Ivy?" asked Nathan.

"The garden in the courtyard is quite beautiful," answered Ivy, "and by the appearance of these statues all over the courtyard, I'm guessing that Loki might be planning to set up a domain beyond the palace for him to rule later on...but he can just correct me if I'm wrong."

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus waited in a moment of silence to see if Loki would just appear to say something to them. But to their dismay, he didn't show up.

"Oh well," sighed Joan, "we'll just have to make the best of our situation right now, just like Ivy said."

"I guess I'm in charge of dishes in the kitchen," declared Sara.


	4. Adapt or Else

Over the course of a couple of days, everyone was trying as much as they can to adapt to their new life in the palace. There didn't seem to be much to do around the palace, so Jenna, Bella and Sara volunteered to carry out the cleaning of the palace, which Loki didn't really pay attention to. However, Nathan, Jonas and Keanu immediately teased the girls in a condescending tone, claiming that cleaning is a woman's duty. However, Phoebe stared at them straight in the eye and pointed out their misogynist views, which the God of Mischief found amusing for some reason. Ebony and Atlantiana started forming a friendship since they were both gothic and they searched their rooms for any CDs containing gothic music such as My Chemical Romance and Evanescence just so they could listen to them.

At the moment, Ivy was sitting on the bench in the courtyard while gazing at the fountain, which appeared to be magnificent in her opinion. With Phoebe volunteering to maintain order in the palace during the day, this was the best option to keep herself entertained. While she was gazing at the fountain, she was wondering whether her family is doing ok and whether they are worried about her. She was starting to get bored, so she stood up from the bench and headed back inside the palace. Just as she began exploring, she came across Bella.

"Hey, Ivy," said Bella.

"Bella?" paused Ivy.

"I finished cleaning my room," explained Bella, "so I decided to take a walk."

"Ok then," asked Ivy, "would you like to hang out?"

"Sure," nodded Bella, "what would you like to talk about?"

"Maybe you can explain why you joined the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church?" requested Ivy.

"Edward and the other Cullens decided to join the organization," explained Bella, "so I figured that if I went along, I could still stay with Edward."

"Don't you have family members or other friends to worry about?" mentioned Ivy.

"I wish there was a way I could contact them," admitted Bella.

"I also worry about my family and friends which I left behind," replied Ivy.

Bella and Ivy started strolling through the hallway of the palace.

"So, Ivy," asked Bella, "why did you mention that Loki is this Norse God of Mischief?"

"Oh, that? I did plenty of research on Norse Mythology," explained Ivy, "would you like to hear more about it?"

"Yeah, absolutely," nodded Bella.

Ivy spent the next hour explaining to Bella about the most important details of Norse Mythology, including the Norse gods. Just as they were conversing, Edward passed by and overheard the conversation.

"I'd hate to intrude," interrupted Edward, "but I thought there was only one God."

"There are different religions out there," corrected Ivy, "and some of them aren't even widely followed anymore. I chose to research Norse Mythology because it seemed so fascinating to me."

"So you can tell us more about Loki?" clamored Bella.

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "since Loki is depicted as a jokester, I'm guessing he trapped us in this palace and ordered us to kill one another just so he can cause mischief. I wonder what Odin would do to him if he found out of this scheme."

"I wish I knew," sighed Edward.

"Thanks for telling me about this Norse Mythology," smiled Bella, "it had given me a better understanding about the situation we're in right now."

"Could you tell me more about it?" asked Edward.

"Sure," nodded Bella, "see you, Ivy."

Bella left with Edward, so Ivy decided to continue exploring the hallway. She checked the map on her identification tablet and noticed that she can reach the infirmary by just turning the corner. She did just that when she suddenly heard shouting from inside the infirmary.

"Keep your hands off me, you prep!" shouted Ebony.

Ivy sprinted to the entrance of the infirmary and noticed that Ebony was sitting on one of the beds and Loki was standing right next to her, keeping a firm grip on her arm that appeared to be bleeding.

"Then you shouldn't have cut yourself with a knife," scolded Loki, "that's not a healthy method of coping, now hold still."

"You can't tell me what to do!" snarled Ebony.

"Didn't I already tell you?" reminded Loki, "I am the king of this palace."

"I don't give a fuck if you're a king!" growled Ebony.

"Just because I have brought you into a coliseum of murder," replied Loki, "doesn't mean I don't care about your well being."

Loki used his magic to close the wounds on Ebony's right arm, and then he did the same thing for her left arm. After that, he cleaned off the blood.

"Why can't I be normal?" shrieked Ebony, "it's a fucking curse!"

Loki released Ebony's left arm.

"You can try to act normal," assured Loki, "you may leave now."

Ebony stood up from the bed and gave Loki the middle finger. She then stormed out of the infirmary and pushed past Ivy, who tried to keep herself from falling to the floor. Ivy was about to head somewhere else when Loki focused his eyes on her.

"We meet again, Ivy," said Loki.

"Sorry!" blurted Ivy, "I didn't mean to interrupt what you were doing."

Loki chuckled as he stepped out of the infirmary.

"It's quite all right," assured Loki, "I caught Ebony cutting herself, so I had to bring her to the infirmary."

"In that case," said Ivy, "I'll just get going."

Nodding in agreement, Loki stepped through the hallway, leaving Ivy behind. She decided to wander the palace and search for Phoebe so she can talk to her.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Nick Fury arrived at the apartment building after receiving a call from the neighbors about a strange magical barrier. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were accompanying him in this trip. They parked their car and hopped out before heading inside the building. Along the way, they came across a middle-aged man.

"Are you the police?" he asked.

"I am Director Nick Fury," answered Nick, "and these are my agents; Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton. We are here to respond to your call about a mysterious barrier."

"Oh, good!" the middle-aged man sighed in relief, "follow me."

Nick Fury, Natasha and Clint followed the middle-aged man until they reached the door to one of the apartments.

"I was going to stop by and say hello to Ivy and Phoebe when I noticed this barrier," explained the middle-aged man, "I tried to break through it, but it just wouldn't fall apart."

"Agent Romanoff," instructed Nick, "try to open the door."

Upon cue, Natasha approached the door and reached out to open it, only to find that a magical barrier appeared and blocked her path.

"Oh, great," muttered Natasha.

"Can I try?" asked Clint.

"Go ahead," nodded Nick.

Natasha stepped out of the way, allowing Clint to tackle into the door, but the magical barrier knocked him off and sent him stumbling onto the floor.

"Damn it!" snapped Clint, "it won't budge."

"I tried the other door leading to outside," said the middle-aged man, "but the barrier blocked that as well."

Natasha recorded the images of the apartment door as Clint staggered back to his feet. She even scanned the area for any strange phenomena that could be responsible for the barrier.

"I got as much information as I could," reported Natasha.

Nick Fury turned to the middle-aged man.

"Thank you for your time," praised Nick, "we'll look further into this manner."

"You're welcome, sir," replied the middle-aged man.

Nick Fury, Natasha and Clint left the apartment building and hopped into the car. After a long drive, they arrived at the SHIELD base, parked their car and headed inside the building. They reached the conference room, where Natasha set the devices on the table.

"I think I have a possible theory on what might have happened," said Natasha, "remember the Asgardian that appeared in New Mexico?"

"Yes," nodded Nick.

"I'm guessing that an Asgardian came to the apartment and placed the barrier around it to prevent intruders," explained Natasha, "I suspect this Asgardian may have abducted Ivy Spade and Phoebe Collins after that."

"In that case," suggested Nick, "we should conduct a search for the missing college students and the Asgardian. Who knows what this Asgardian could do to them if we don't find them?"

"In the meantime," added Clint, "I could find the leader of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church and interview him on his complaint about the sudden disappearances of some of the organization's members."

"You should investigate that organization while you're at it, Agent Barton," instructed Nick, "I've been getting complaints from atheists stating that this organization has been bullying them into joining. I have a feeling the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church might be a terrorist organization. In the meantime, I should go address these issues to Mr. Rogers."

* * *

 

Back at the palace at evening, Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus gathered in the dining hall. Jenna and Bella prepared chicken enchiladas for dinner, so they all served themselves and started eating.

"You guys want to know something interesting?" asked Nathan.

"What?" paused Jonas.

"Nathan and I learned that our dormitories are soundproof," explained Keanu, "we tested it out, and no matter how loud we screamed, you can't hear anything in the room next door."

"That's just perfect for a murder," commented Edward.

"At least we wouldn't have to worry about fending for ourselves," shrugged Joan.

"We tried budging through the windows," added Giselle, "but no matter how hard we tackled them, they wouldn't break. Not even my wolf form could break them."

"There really is no other way out," sighed Jenna.

"This sucks," groaned Ebony, "what do we even fucking do?!"

"We can't even find the means to communicate with the outside world even if we're stuck in this palace," added Atlantiana.

"Have you tried the stairs?" asked Bella.

"There are shutters in the way, so we can't go up," answered Sara, "I couldn't find a switch either. Maybe we're stuck at the first floor for the time being."

"And how long is it going to take before you accept the reality that we're stuck in this palace with no means of escape?" asked Phoebe.

"How could you say that?!" protested Sara, "I want out of here!"

"Maybe we really have no choice but to adapt to life here," sighed Phoebe.

"You're quick to ruin everyone else's hopes," commented Ivy.

"This is our reality, now," clarified Phoebe, "we should simply adapt or die."

"You want us to just give up hope that someone will come to our rescue?!" yowled Sara.

"Well," shrugged Ivy, "we're not in Midgard, as Loki calls it, anymore."

After a short while, everyone in the dining hall finished their dinner, so Bella and Jenna gathered the dishes and placed them on the counter in the kitchen.

"We should head back to the dormitories for now," suggested Phoebe, "and determine how we should adapt tomorrow."

"Of course," nodded Jonas, "a good night's sleep can help rest our tired minds."

Ivy, Phoebe, Jenna, Ebony, Giselle, Sara, Joan, Atlantiana, Bella, Edward, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan left the dining hall and headed for their dormitories to rest for the night. Maybe something interesting could come forward tomorrow.


	5. A Dangerous Motive

The following morning, after breakfast, Ivy returned to her room and started writing out the events that occurred since she first arrived at the palace. She took the time to add as much detail as she could remember into her notebook, and she was thankful for the pencils she found in a drawer of her desk. Just as she was finishing up, she heard the doorbell ring, so she stepped toward the door to open it. Outside the door, Bella was waiting while holding a practice sword in its scabbard. She was, of course, holding the stand to keep it from falling.

"Hey, Bella," said Ivy, "what's with the present?"

"Edward and I talked about getting a weapon I can use to defend myself," explained Bella, "and when we found this in the dining hall, he assured me that he can protect me from anyone."

"Are you sure about that?" objected Ivy, "I actually like the idea of you defending yourself."

"Maybe you can use this to defend yourself," suggested Bella.

"Thanks," mentioned Ivy, "but isn't that a practice sword?"

Ivy reached out to grab the hilt, but…

"You might want to grab it by the stand," warned Bella.

Ivy quickly withdrew her hand, only to find some golden stains on her palms.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Ivy.

"The practice sword is made of golden leaves," clarified Bella, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"Ehh, it's fine," Ivy shrugged, "I'll just wash my hands."

Ivy grabbed the practice sword by the stand and placed it on top of the dresser.

"Ok, I'll see you later!" chirped Ivy.

Nodding in agreement, Bella closed the door, so Ivy rushed to the bathroom to wash the stains off her hands. After drying her hands, she went back to her desk and finished writing out her thoughts:

"I wonder if Loki sees the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church as a threat."

Now that she finished writing, Ivy put down the notebook and put away the pencil. She turned her head at the practice sword, trying to figure whether to practice fighting with it. She then figured that if she did, her hands would be stained with gold leaves, so she brushed it off. She stepped outside her dorm room, taking her identification tablet and her room key with her and locked the door behind her. She figured that she could head for the courtyard and see if the flowers needed to be tended to when suddenly, the bells rang from the intercom.

"May I have your attention, please?" announced Loki over the intercom, "please assemble in the ballroom at once."

Not wanting to keep Loki waiting, Ivy sprinted out of the hallway and through the foyer until she reached the door to the ballroom. She could see Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus arriving at the door to the ballroom.

"What do you think he wants from us?" asked Giselle.

"Maybe he changed his mind about keeping us here?" clamored Sara.

"Don't get your hopes up," warned Phoebe.

Ivy opened the door and led Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus into the ballroom, where they could see Loki on the other side of the room. His garb was more elaborate than the apparel he wore during their everyday lives in the palace. Ivy swore that the last time she saw him in these elaborate robes was during the entrance ceremony. The additions he had included a horned helmet and a green cape.

"It seems that you are still attached to Midgard," said Loki.

"God will come to save us," declared Jonas.

"There are more gods than you think," smirked Loki.

"You are lying!" yelled Sara, "when God comes to save us, he will send you to hell!"

"I'm not that worried about facing your false god," scoffed Loki, "if you desperately want to leave, then all you have to do is kill someone."

"But God will condemn us if we commit murder," protested Joan.

"Whatever happened to confessing your sins and praying for forgiveness?" objected Edward.

"You all are a few days into life in this palace," interrupted Loki, "and no one has committed murder yet. But I suppose it's due to the lack of motive. For this matter, I've prepared a special present for all of you. You just need to find it in the cinema room."

"And what would we end up finding?" asked Phoebe.

"That's for you to figure out on your own," answered Loki, "dismissed."

Without hesitation, Ivy and Phoebe led the Mary Sues and Gary Stus out of the ballroom and down the hallway until they reached the door to the cinema room. There, they noticed a box containing DVDs set on top of a desk. They took turns plucking out their DVDs with their name on it, wondering what could be inside.

"I hope it's nothing sinful," muttered Jonas.

"Save your thoughts for after we watch these movies," advised Phoebe.

Once Phoebe, Ivy, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus found their movies, they settled into their seats and inserted their disks into the slot of each drive beneath the screens. Ivy stared into her screen and noticed her dad having a conversation in the living room with…

"Wait a minute," paused Ivy, "Director Fury? Is he involved now?"

Ivy continued to gaze at the screen, hoping to get more of the conversation with her dad and Nick Fury. However, just as she was getting to the interesting part, the screen faded to black.

"Damn it," muttered Ivy.

Ivy glanced at the Mary Sues and Gary Stus and noticed that their eyes were widening with horror. She had a sneaky suspicion that they received worse footage from Loki.

"Shit! What happened to them?!" panicked Ebony, "Draco! Vampire! Bloody Mary! Willow! Diablo! I have to know if they're all right!"

"Oh my Goddesses," exclaimed Jenna, "poor Link!"

"Nooooo!" whined Nathan, "someone took my precious stuff!"

"I have to get out of here," whimpered Giselle, "I have to go see my sun and stars!"

Jonas clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

"Almighty God," begged Jonas, "if you can hear me, please take me back to my family."

"Like I said before," reminded Phoebe, "prayers are not going to work here."

Phoebe made a brief glance at her screen.

"Sorry, dad," sighed Phoebe, "you're going to have to cope with my disappearance for now."

"This isn't real, right?" said Edward, "it's just fake, right?"

"I can't take this anymore!" exclaimed Atlantiana.

"I want to get out!" screeched Sara.

Ivy and Edward made a glance at Bella, who appeared to be distraught for some reason.

"Bella," assured Edward, "it may seem bad right now, but it's going to be ok."

Edward reached out to grab Bella's shoulder, but she slapped his hand away.

"Leave me alone!" shouted Bella.

Bella stormed out of the cinema room, compelling Edward to pursue her. She sprinted down the hall, even if Edward was faster than her, and it didn't take long for him to reach out and grab her wrist.

"Let me go!" panicked Bella.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" reminded Edward, "if we can't find a way out, the Cullens will come find us."

"You don't understand what Loki said," protested Bella, tears threatening to well in her eyes, "no one is coming to save us! There's no way out!"

"I promise you," assured Edward, "I'll get you out of here by myself!"

Just as Ivy and Phoebe emerged from the cinema room, Bella yanked her hand away.

"You don't understand," snapped Bella, "not even your strength can help both of us! I can't take this anymore!"

Bella sprinted away from Edward and stopped just inches from Ivy.

"Bella, are you ok?" asked Ivy, "you seem upset."

Bella didn't say anything, but she wrapped her arms around Ivy and buried her face into her shoulder just as she broke down in tears. While Joan, Jenna, Giselle, Atlantiana, Ebony, Sara, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan emerged from the cinema room, Ivy laid her eyes on Loki, who appeared to be smirking at them from the corner of the hallway. He only stared at them for only a moment before disappearing.

"What did we do to deserve all of this?" whispered Bella, "why is he doing this to us?"

Ivy didn't say anything, but she gently stroked Bella's head in an attempt to soothe her.

* * *

Later that evening, after dinner, Ivy took a shower to take her mind off what Loki showed everyone else. She wasn't sure how he was able to receive footage of what was going on in Midgard...maybe he used some sort of magic to record such events. Once she was finished with her shower, she turned it off and dried herself up before emerging from the bathroom. She was in the middle of slipping into her pajamas when she suddenly heard the bell ringing over the intercom.

"Nighttime is now in effect," announced Loki over the intercom.

Ivy simply ignored the announcement, knowing that she should get some sleep soon. Once she finished putting on her pajamas, she suddenly heard the doorbell ring, compelling her to open the door. Outside, Bella was waiting in the hall, her body trembling in fear.

"Bella?" paused Ivy, "what are you doing here? Loki just announced that it's nighttime."

Bella stepped into the bedroom.

"I'm scared, Ivy," peeped Bella.

"What do you mean?" asked Ivy, confused.

"When I laid down to rest earlier today," explained Bella, "the doorknob started rattling...as if someone tried to open the door. They couldn't open it since it was locked, but the shaking got worse and worse. I was scared to the point where I couldn't move."

"Then what happened after that?" clamored Ivy.

"It just stopped," answered Bella, "and after that, I opened the door and looked around, but I couldn't find anyone nearby. Because of that, I'm rather worried. What if the same thing happened later on at night?"

"I highly doubt Loki would target you unless you provoked him," shrugged Ivy.

"It's not Loki I'm worried about," assured Bella, "but I can't trust Edward to protect me anymore."

"I guess we haven't established a curfew," sighed Ivy, "maybe we could set one up in the morning?"

"We'll have to ask Loki to establish one for us," said Bella.

"Maybe," giggled Ivy, "how about you spend the night in my room so no one would attack you? After all, I remember that one rule where no one is allowed to attack the detectives. Also, the rules don't say that you have to sleep in your own bedroom."

"I actually have a better idea," suggested Bella, "how about we exchange rooms for one night?"

"You're kidding, right?" objected Ivy.

Bella shook her head.

"Ok then," nodded Ivy, "if that would put your mind at ease, then I'll accept. We'll need to trade keys while we're at it."

Ivy and Bella pulled out their room keys and exchanged them.

"Just do me a favor," advised Bella, "and don't open the door for anyone, no matter what."

"Got it," nodded Ivy, "you do the same thing."

"Right," agreed Bella, "especially if it's you. Otherwise, trading rooms would be pointless."

"Ok," chirped Ivy, "see you tomorrow, Bella!"

Ivy stepped out of the bedroom, allowing Bella to close the door and lock it. Bella then pulled the kitchen knife out of her pocket and placed it on her bed.

Meanwhile, Ivy unlocked the door and stepped into Bella's bedroom before locking the door behind her. After taking a few minutes inspecting the bedroom, Ivy plopped down onto the bed and began to doze off. She was hoping that no one could commit murder over some footage that Loki showed them, yet she had a feeling that she might be wrong.


	6. The Murder of Bella Swan

Ivy slowly woke up to the sound of Loki's morning announcement over the intercom. She definitely remembered that she did switch rooms with Bella. She got out of bed and figured she should head back into her room to get dressed. Ivy grabbed Bella's room key and her own identification tablet before stepping out of the room. Since both Ivy and Bella's rooms were adjacent, it took only a few seconds to reach the other room. Ivy was about to ring the doorbell when she suddenly noticed the door was slightly open.

"What the-?" paused Ivy.

Ivy had a sneaky feeling that something was wrong, so she opened the door and stepped into her room, only to find that it was rather wrecked.

"Oh no," gasped Ivy, "could this be…?"

Ivy set down Bella's room key on the dresser and searched the room for her own room key, which she found on the floor. She also took note of the cuts on the wall and on the floor as well as the practice sword and the scabbard lying on the floor. Who could've broken into the room? She remembered Bella advising her not to open the door for anyone, and she even reciprocated the advice as well. Ivy then noticed the doorknob on the bathroom door was on the verge of coming loose as if someone nearly undid the screws holding the doorknob in place. She pushed the bathroom door open slightly, only to find Bella's corpse lying inside the shower stall, propped up along the wall and drenched in her blood, much to Ivy's horror.

"Oh my God," exclaimed Ivy, trembling with fear, "someone got her!"

Ivy took a closer look at Bella's corpse, only to find a kitchen knife plunged just beneath her chest. Who could've killed her? Of course, Ivy remembered that the guests were not allowed to leave the palace unless they kill someone, so she suspected that one of the Mary Sues and Gary Stus could've done it...but who? Either way, she would have to tell the others what happened, so she stepped out of the bathroom, closed the bedroom door and changed out of her pajamas and into her daytime apparel. Once she finished, she brushed her hair. She stepped out of her bedroom and headed for the dining hall, where she could see everyone else waiting for their breakfast. Ivy suspected that Jenna and Sara were making breakfast at the moment, so she approached the table, catching Phoebe's attention.

"Morning, Ivy," asked Phoebe, "have you seen Bella this morning?"

"Phoebe," stuttered Ivy, "something...bad happened this morning."

"What do you mean?" demanded Edward.

"How about," suggested Ivy, "I show you guys after breakfast?"

"You're not hiding something," pestered Ebony, "are you?"

Ivy shook her head. Just then, Jenna and Sara emerged from the kitchen with fried eggs, bacon and french toast while Joan carried the condiments.

"Ok," announced Jenna, "breakfast is ready!"

Jenna, Sara and Joan set down the breakfast on the center of the table, allowing everyone to serve themselves while Jenna took orders for drinks. As they started eating, Ivy made a glance at Loki, who was eating his own breakfast in the corner of the dining hall. She knew that Loki would never kill anyone unless they broke the rules, so she ruled him out as a suspect. She even knew that she can't find the killer by just making him raise his hand.

"Strange," commented Jonas, "Bella hasn't shown up, yet."

"She's probably still asleep," shrugged Giselle.

Ivy knew that wasn't true as she continued to eat. What would the others say to her when they see Bella's corpse in the shower? After a while, everyone finished eating...including Loki since he emerged from the kitchen after setting the dishes on the counter and was heading for the door leading to the hallway.

"Ok, guys," advised Ivy, "do me a favor and follow me. You're not going to like this, but there's something I want to show you."

"Why are you requesting this all of a sudden?" demanded Nathan.

Ivy stole a glance at Loki, who seemed to be smirking, as if he knew what happened, before he stepped out of the dining hall.

"It's...about Bella," explained Ivy.

"Edward and I will follow you," assured Phoebe, "everyone else gather at the ballroom and we'll tell you what happened."

"Ok," nodded Sara.

After Jenna set the dishes on the kitchen counter, Giselle, Ebony, Atlantiana, Joan, Sara, Jenna, Jonas, Nathan and Keanu left the dining hall, heading for the ballroom while Ivy led Phoebe and Edward out of the dining hall and down the hallway, wandering through the foyer to the other side to reach the dormitories. The trio stepped into Ivy's bedroom and straight for the bathroom, where Phoebe and Edward gasped at the sight of Bella's corpse.

"Bella!" panicked Edward, "NOOOO!"

"How...did this happen?" gasped Phoebe.

"Before you say anything about me," explained Ivy, "Bella and I traded rooms last night. I stayed in Bella's room and didn't open the door to anyone, I swear!"

Edward glared at Ivy.

"How can I be so sure you're not the killer?!" demanded Edward.

"Edward, I..." stammered Ivy.

Before Ivy could say anything further, she, Phoebe and Edward heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Phoebe.

"A corpse has just been discovered," announced Loki over the intercom, "assemble in the ballroom at once!"

"We should go," suggested Ivy, "Loki's waiting for us."

Ivy, Edward and Phoebe sprinted out of the bedroom and down the hallway until they reached the door to the ballroom. They headed inside, where the Mary Sues and Gary Stus were waiting.

"What did Loki mean by corpse?" peeped Atlantiana.

They turned their heads at Ivy, Phoebe and Edward.

"About time you guys showed up," commented Giselle.

"I hate to bring the bad news," reported Phoebe, "but Bella Swan...is dead."

"What?!" exclaimed Sara, Giselle, Jenna, Atlantiana, Ebony, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan in unison.

"Is that why you asked us to assemble here?" asked Jenna.

"Which would make Loki's recent announcement pointless," added Keanu.

"It was not pointless," interrupted the familiar British voice.

Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Ebony, Atlantiana, Joan, Sara, Jenna, Giselle, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan turned their heads at Loki, who was in his normal apparel at the moment.

"I made the announcement shortly after three of you discovered the corpse," explained Loki, smirking, "you must realize that one of you killed Bella Swan so you could leave this palace. Isn't it that obvious?"

Everyone else glanced at each other in the ballroom with suspicion.

"You mean," clarified Edward, "you didn't kill Bella?"

"Unless a person has violated one of the rules," nodded Loki, "I will not personally get involved."

"So that means the killer can just leave the palace, right?" clamored Sara.

Loki burst into an ominous laughter, which sent a chill down everyone's spines.

"Oh, you mortals are so naive," scoffed Loki, "do you think it would be easy to kill someone? That's why I have decided to explain the supplemental rules concerning ascension. While you are required to kill someone, you must also get away with the murder."

"You mean we have to make sure no one finds out it was one of us?" clarified Phoebe.

"You are smart for a Midgardian, yes," nodded Loki, "to ensure you fulfill those conditions, we will hold a trial. We will hold one once you have gathered enough evidence of the crime, which can take up to either a few hours or a whole day upon discovery of the corpse. During the trial, the villain of the palace will face a fierce showdown against the remaining guests in the palace, the heroes, in the palace courtroom."

Loki glanced at Ivy and Phoebe.

"But before the trial," continued Loki, "our star detectives will carry out the investigation after the crime has been discovered. Once the investigation is complete, you will all have to answer the one question: Who is the villain of the palace? The answer will be made when you cast a vote at the end of the trial. If the answer is correct, then the villain will be punished while everyone else will continue on with life in the palace. However, if you get the answer wrong, then the villain will be allowed to leave while the other guests, excluding the palace detectives, will be punished."

"What do you mean by punished?" asked Giselle.

"I'm talking about...execution," answered Loki.

"You mean...we'll be put to death?!" exclaimed Sara.

"It's a sacrifice that has to be made," nodded Loki, "either the villain's life or your lives are at stake."

"But what if one of the detectives is responsible for the murder?" objected Edward, glaring at Ivy.

"A different disciplinary action will be carried out by myself that does not involve execution if that scenario occurred," answered Loki.

"Damn it," muttered Edward, "I wanted to see Ivy get executed."

"You have no evidence to prove it," smirked Loki, "Edward Cullen. I will add the new rules to remind you from this point on."

Loki flicked his hand, compelling Ivy to turn on her identification tablet. As expected, three new rules were added to the list of regulations.

"I will also provide to you the information I gathered concerning the murder," continued Loki, "I myself know who the killer is with help from the surveillance cameras. If you wish to assist the star detectives in the investigation, be my guest."

Loki flicked his hand again, and everyone else in the ballroom noticed the murder file appearing in their identification tablets, so they took their time to read it:

_"Victim: Isabella Marie Swan_

_Time of Death: 1:30 a.m._

_Cause of Death: A stab wound just beneath the chest_

_The corpse was discovered in the shower stall of Ivy Spade's bedroom._

_Additionally, signs of blunt-force trauma are visible on the broken right wrist."_

"I wish you luck with your investigation," said Loki, "and I'll see you in the courtroom."

Loki left the ballroom, leaving everyone else behind.

"I guess we really have no choice," sighed Jonas, "we should do what he says."

"If Ivy wasn't the killer," assumed Phoebe, "it's a clear sign someone else might've killed Bella."

"You liar!" spat Edward, "the murder took place in her room, so she's the culprit!"

"I didn't do it!" protested Ivy.

Giselle let out a sigh.

"Jenna and I will watch over the crime scene to make sure no one tampers with the evidence," declared Giselle.

"Ok, let's get going!" announced Ivy, "we don't want to keep Loki waiting."

Everyone split up, with Jenna and Giselle heading for the bedroom while Ivy and Phoebe stood together, determined to carry out the investigation.

"I guess it's time we put our skills to good use," said Phoebe.


	7. Detective Spade is on the Case

Ivy and Phoebe meandered toward Ivy's bedroom, where Jenna and Giselle were keeping watch over the crime scene. Ivy took note of the lint roller on the floor. Strange, it was empty for some reason, since it had plenty of tape when she left the room last night. Phoebe knelt down and traced her finger along the floor, studying every inch of the floor in the bedroom.

"Strange," commented Phoebe, "I can't find a single trace of hair on the floor."

"I guess the criminal used the lint roller to pick up the hair on the floor," assumed Ivy.

As Phoebe wrote down some data in her identification tablet, Ivy took a closer look at the unsheathed practice sword, which seemed to have been used during the incident, thanks to the telltale sign that the hilt lost most of its gilding. She noted that it was drawn from the scabbard, considering the scabbard was laying on the floor. She also figured out that Bella had Ivy's room key the whole time.

"I wonder how the culprit got into the room in the first place," said Ivy, "Bella couldn't have forgotten to lock the door."

Ivy took a closer look on the scratches on the wall and the floor.

"Maybe there was a sign of a struggle here," said Ivy.

"And you couldn't hear the struggle?" pondered Jenna.

"The bedrooms are soundproof," reminded Giselle, "remember?"

Phoebe checked the drawer, only to find that the cases to the sewing kit and tool set were left untouched. Ivy flipped through her notebook, only to find that a page had been torn out. Ivy jotted the note down in her identification tablet for later while Phoebe took notice of the slash mark on the scabbard as Ivy approached Jenna.

"I'm starting to suspect the criminal already destroyed the evidence before we discovered the corpse," commented Jenna, "we do have a garbage disposal room after all."

"Noted," nodded Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe stepped into the bathroom and started examining Bella's corpse. Phoebe took note of the kitchen knife in her identification tablet as Ivy inspected Bella's broken wrist. She noticed gold stains on her wrist, leading her to suspect that the practice sword must've broken her wrist. Ivy then noticed that both Bella's hands were clean, except for the blood on her left index finger. Could she have used the blood to write down something? Ivy knew that the stab wound was what killed Bella, so she assumed that her wrist must've been broken before that. While Ivy was jotting down notes in her identification tablet, she noticed some letters written upside down in blood on the shower wall just behind the corpse.

"Say," pondered Ivy, "do you think Bella wrote those letters on the wall while she was dying?"

After pushing Bella's corpse slightly to the left, Phoebe used her identification tablet to take a picture of the letters on the wall. She then turned her identification tablet upside down and read the letters for a few moments.

"The letters read J-O-A-N," said Phoebe, "to be honest, the only guest who has that name is Joan St. Sanctuary Louisa-Smith."

"I think we should save that accusation for the trial," suggested Ivy.

"Right," nodded Phoebe, "I guess Bella wrote her message so the culprit couldn't see it."

Ivy and Phoebe stepped out of the bathroom and took notice of the broken doorknob, which appeared to be in danger of coming loose. Ivy took notice that the screws were undone.

"Maybe the culprit used his or her own tool set to break the lock," assumed Phoebe.

"Then Bella must've locked the door from the inside," replied Ivy, "so the culprit couldn't reach her since the lock is only from the inside. But I guess that plan failed."

"We'll have to find more clues," suggested Phoebe, "such as where the kitchen knife came from."

Ivy and Phoebe stepped out of Ivy's bedroom, only to notice that Bella's nameplate on the door.

"Huh?" paused Ivy, "did someone switch nameplates?"

Phoebe jotted down a note in her identification tablet. She and Ivy then wandered out of the dormitories and down the hallway until they reached the dining hall, where they could see Atlantiana standing around. They headed for the kitchen and took notice of the set of kitchen knives hanging on the wall, except there was one missing.

"I knew someone took the knife!" bragged Ivy.

"Maybe we should ask the others about the missing kitchen knife," suggested Phoebe.

Nodding in agreement, Ivy and Phoebe emerged from the kitchen and approached Atlantiana.

"Excuse me," called Ivy, "but we noticed one of the kitchen knives is missing. Do you know anything about it?"

"Yeah, I thought it was weird with the knife disappearing all of a sudden," nodded Atlantiana, "last night, when I came into the kitchen to prepare some fruit juice, the knives were all there. But when I finished drinking my fruit juice, I went to the kitchen to clean up and the knife was gone."

"So the knife disappeared in the kitchen while you were drinking fruit juice in the dining hall?" clarified Phoebe.

"And listening to My Chemical Romance with Ebony, yes," nodded Atlantiana.

"So do you think someone came into the dining hall during that time?" asked Ivy.

"I think I saw Bella going into the kitchen while we were drinking fruit juice," replied Atlantiana.

"Thanks for your time," smiled Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe stepped out of the dining hall and began searching the palace for the garbage disposal room.

"If Bella was the one who took the knife from the kitchen," pondered Ivy, "do you think she could've been planning to murder someone?"

"Maybe," replied Phoebe.

It wasn't long before Ivy and Phoebe entered the garbage disposal room, only to find that there were shutters in the way, and from a distance, it seemed that the incinerator was left on.

"Damn it," muttered Ivy, "we can't get in, and we don't even have the key to the shutters!"

"We can search for clues by observing from a distance," assured Phoebe.

"Thanks, Phoebe!" smiled Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe scanned the room to search for anything laying on the floor. To their luck they saw a smashed glass ball on the floor in front of the switch and a dress shirt cuff on the floor in front of the incinerator.

"So the culprit really did destroy the evidence," commented Ivy.

Suddenly, before Ivy could say anymore, she felt a tap on her shoulder, compelling her to turn her head, and she instantly yelped in shock upon noticing Loki standing behind her.

"Loki, what the fuck?!" spat Ivy.

"What are you doing in the garbage disposal?" asked Loki.

"We were looking for a way to open the shutters so we can investigate this room," answered Ivy.

"I cannot open the shutters for you," replied Loki, "if you want to get past the shutters, find the janitor."

"So who's the janitor?" asked Phoebe.

Loki let out a chuckle.

"You'll have to find him on your own," beckoned Loki.

Loki stepped out of the garbage disposal room, leaving Phoebe and Ivy disappointed.

"God, he's such a buzzkill!" grumbled Ivy.

"We don't have much of a choice, though," sighed Phoebe, "you go find the janitor."

"Ok," nodded Ivy.

Ivy sprinted out of the garbage disposal room and searched the entire palace for the janitor. Along the way, she asked any of the guests about who the janitor was, and then Keanu led her to the foyer, where Nathan was standing around.

"So Nathan's the janitor?" asked Ivy.

"Yeah," nodded Keanu, "he volunteered for the job, stating that he would be willing to help keep the palace clean."

"Thank you, Keanu," smiled Ivy, "that was really helpful!"

"No problem, babe," replied Keanu.

Ivy sprinted toward Nathan, catching his attention.

"Hi there, Miss Ivy," said Nathan, "is Keanu giving you any trouble?"

"Uh, no," answered Ivy, "he told me that you were assigned for janitorial duty."

"Oh, right," chirped Nathan, "Loki asked me to carry out the task yesterday."

"Then could you do me a favor and unlock the shutters in the trash room?" requested Ivy.

"Sure," nodded Nathan, "I'll do anything a lady needs!"

Ivy and Nathan wandered back to the trash room, where Nathan unlocked the door to the switch, allowing Ivy and Phoebe to activate the switch that opened the shutters.

"Thanks, Nathan," chirped Ivy.

"Anytime," marveled Nathan.

"I still wonder why the trash room is so hard to access," pondered Ivy.

"Since you're supposed to kill and get away with it," assumed Phoebe, "if everyone had free access to the trash room, it would be easier to destroy the evidence."

"So since the culprit is not the janitor," mused Ivy, "he threw the evidence into the incinerator."

Ivy stepped further into the trash room and observed the smashed glass ball while Phoebe noticed the blood on the dress shirt cuff.

"Hey, Nathan," called Ivy, "the incinerator's been left on for some reason. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"I know you use the green button to commence incineration," answered Nathan, "and you use the yellow button to turn the incinerator off...wait a minute, the incinerator's been left on?!"

Ivy nodded.

"Strange," continued Nathan, "last time I was here, I made sure the incinerator was turned off."

"So the culprit used the glass ball to turn the incinerator on," concluded Phoebe.

"Now all we have to do is to ask Ebony for confirmation on what she saw," said Ivy.

Phoebe collected the dress shirt cuff and the smashed glass ball.

"We'll be leaving, now," declared Phoebe.

"Ok," chirped Nathan, "I'll see you later!"

Ivy and Phoebe left the trash room and searched the palace for Ebony. Yet, it didn't take long for Ebony to sprint toward them in the ballroom with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Hey, fangs!" called Ebony, "check out the note I found in the dormitories!"

"A note?" paused Ivy.

Ebony handed the note to Ivy and Phoebe, which read:

_"I want to speak with you alone. Please meet me in my room in five minutes. Be sure to check the nameplate so you don't get the wrong room: Bella."_

"So that's the missing page from my notebook," whispered Ivy.

Ebony noticed the smashed glass ball in Phoebe's pocket.

"Hey," chirped Ebony, "you found my crystal ball!"

"Huh?" warbled Ivy.

Phoebe pulled out the piece of the glass ball and showed it to Ebony.

"This was yours?" paused Phoebe.

"Yeah," nodded Ebony, "I use it to practice my fortune telling. Well, I forgot it in the laundry room last night."

"I see," asked Ivy, "Atlantiana said you were with her in the dining hall earlier last night. Did you happen to see anyone walk into the kitchen while you and Atlantiana were having fruit juice?"

"Yeah," answered Ebony, "and it was Bella."

Before Ivy or Phoebe could respond, they and Ebony suddenly heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"I personally thank our star detectives for a splendid investigation," announced Loki over the intercom, "now everyone must assemble at the elevator in the foyer at once. I will be waiting for you in the courtroom."

"I guess we got our evidence," commented Ivy.

"Come on," beckoned Ebony, "we gotta get going!"

Ebony, Ivy and Phoebe stepped out of the ballroom and wandered down the hallway until they reached the foyer, where they could see everyone else gathering in front of the elevator underneath the stairs. With everyone gathered, the elevator door slid open, allowing them to step inside. Once they have boarded the elevator and closed the door, the elevator descended down below the ground, sinking deeper and deeper. It finally reached the courtroom and when the door opened, Ivy, Phoebe, Jenna, Giselle, Sara, Edward, Joan, Atlantiana, Ebony, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan stepped into the courtroom. There, Loki was sitting on the throne on the other side of the room in his more majestic apparel, which included his cape and helmet, and he had his scepter in his possession. Ivy felt uneasy with the trial about to begin. She hoped that she got the culprit right. Otherwise, this could mean certain death for everyone else.


	8. The First Palace Trial

"So you arrived right on time," said Loki, "now find your seat with your name on it."

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus glanced at the stands arranged in a circle. One of them had a picture frame of Bella on top of the stand, so they scrambled to find their stands. Ivy could notice that everyone was visible to the others at just a glance. As far as she knew, this could be a trial for life or a trial for death.

"Very good," announced Loki, "now let me explain that your vote will determine the trial's outcome. Find the true villain, and only the villain will face justice. But if you make the wrong accusation, everyone else besides our star detectives will face punishment, allowing the villain to ascend to Midgard. Court is now in session!"

Edward immediately glared at Ivy.

"All we know is that Bella was murdered," said Jonas.

"We know," sighed Keanu.

"The murder occurred in Ivy's bedroom, didn't it?" mentioned Sara, "she was in the shower, and she was suddenly attacked and killed without a fight."

"Uh, no," corrected Ivy, "that's not it. When I checked my room, there were slash marks all over the walls and the floor, and there might be some on my bed. That means there was a struggle that took place."

"A struggle?" paused Sara.

"Between Bella and the culprit," clarified Ivy.

"So she fled into the shower after being attacked by the culprit?" pondered Giselle.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" remarked Jenna.

"Now let's talk about the murder weapon," said Keanu.

"What was it used to kill Bella Swan?" asked Nathan.

"It's obvious the murderer took a dagger and used it to stab her," assumed Jonas.

Ivy slammed her hands onto the stand, catching everyone's attention.

"You got that wrong!" objected Ivy, "that blade was a kitchen knife. In fact, one of the knives from the kitchen was found missing after the incident."

"So it was that knife which was used for the murder," agreed Ebony.

"Yeah," sighed Jonas, "the blade did look like a knife."

"I get it," grumbled Joan, "so what was the point? I have to side with Edward on this one; Ivy is still the killer."

"That's right," nodded Edward, "Ivy's room was the crime scene. What more proof could you want?"

Ivy felt a chill sent down her spine. Was Edward trying to turn the Mary Sues and Gary Stus against her?

"Wait!" protested Ivy, "that's not true!"

"Edward," scolded Phoebe, "you're defeating the purpose of the trial by drawing a conclusion before we finished our debate."

"The outcome will never change no matter how much we talk about it," insisted Joan, "I can't wait for God to send Ivy to hell!"

Joan glanced at the buttons and the screen on her stand, so she switched until she saw Ivy's name and was about to push it, but…

"Didn't you hear what Phoebe said?" interrupted Loki, "don't cast your vote just yet."

Joan glared at Loki.

"Quit being such a buzzkill, you sinner!" snapped Joan.

"I'm sure we'll reach a breakthrough in the debate," assured Phoebe.

"So what?" complained Joan, "the weapon was a knife, so it's obvious that Ivy took it from the kitchen, and how? When the dining hall was empty, she snuck it out."

"You are wrong!" shouted Ivy.

Ivy took a deep breath.

"I didn't take the knife from the kitchen," continued Ivy, "what if there was a witness? Isn't that right, Atlantiana?"

"Oh?" paused Atlantiana.

"You said that you were in the dining hall when the knife disappeared, right?" explained Ivy.

"Yeah," nodded Atlantiana, "and I didn't see you come into the cafeteria at that time."

"Yeah right," scoffed Joan, "you and that slut with the fake boobs are accomplices."

"Who are you calling a slut?!" thundered Atlantiana, "why am I an accomplice?"

"Hold on," interrupted Keanu, "Loki, are accomplices considered villains, too?"

"While it is possible to bring along an accomplice," answered Loki, "only the perpetrator himself can ascend to Midgard."

"So the accomplice has nothing to gain?" clarified Phoebe.

"So if Ivy didn't get the knife," asked Giselle, "who did?"

"It's obvious that since Atlantiana was there the whole time," accused Sara, "she did it."

"No! It wasn't me!" protested Atlantiana.

"Ebony," reminded Phoebe, "you can corroborate that, right?"

"Yep," nodded Ebony, "I slept in Atlantiana's room last night after she told me she was scared after watching the video from Loki."

"Isn't it against the rules to sleep in someone else's bedroom?" objected Joan.

"I'm afraid that concept of another person sleeping in someone else's room doesn't count as breaking the rules," replied Loki.

"Anyways," continued Ebony, "while we were in the dining hall, another person did come by right into the kitchen."

"It was Bella," clarified Ivy, "wasn't it?"

Ebony and Atlantiana nodded in unison.

"She claimed that she came for a drink of water," explained Ebony, "but that was when she took the knife."

"Bella probably took the knife to either commit the murder," said Ivy, "or defend herself with it."

"Come on," scoffed Edward, glaring at Ivy, "just because someone didn't take the knife doesn't mean they're in the clear."

"What?!" exclaimed Ivy.

"See?" grinned Joan, "Ivy really is the culprit after all!"

"I told you, I didn't do it!" protested Ivy.

"It's still too early," reminded Phoebe, "besides, aren't any of you guys missing something?"

"That's right!" chirped Ivy, "there was no strand of hair in my room."

"So the culprit destroyed the evidence?" clarified Keanu.

"Ivy obviously cleaned the floor to remove any sign that Bella visited the room," smirked Sara.

"If she wanted to remove any trace of her," mentioned Phoebe, "she would've removed the corpse. The culprit cleaned the floor to remove any trace that he visited her room."

"So Ivy wasn't the culprit?" pondered Jonas.

"There is further proof that Ivy didn't do it," nodded Phoebe, "the culprit didn't use Ivy's tool set to unscrew the doorknob since Bella locked it after she escaped into the shower. They used their own tool set. That broke the doorknob in the process."

"You mean Ivy wouldn't break down her own door?" paused Joan.

"All bathroom doors lock from the inside," clarified Phoebe, "also, the culprit didn't know Ivy and Bella exchanged rooms."

"But then," pondered Jenna, "how did the culprit get into Ivy's room in the first place?"

"Maybe the culprit picked the lock," assumed Edward.

"No," corrected Giselle, "the locks are equipped with an anti-picking mechanism."

"Bella was scared when we exchanged rooms," explained Ivy, "so I advised her to not open the door to anyone."

"What if her fear herself was a lie?" mentioned Phoebe.

"Yeah, I should've known," paused Ivy.

Phoebe pulled out the note Ebony gave her and showed it to everyone.

"What's the meaning of this?" demanded Edward.

"Only someone who had been in Ivy's room could've left this note," answered Phoebe.

"That must've been Bella," muttered Ivy.

"But why would she write a note like that?" objected Edward.

"She was trying to call on a certain person," answered Phoebe, "by slipping the note under the door, she attempted to call upon them in secret."

"Bella and Ivy exchanged rooms, didn't they?" reminded Sara, "how were they able to mistaken Ivy's room for Bella's?"

"I think Bella swapped the nameplates," assumed Ivy.

"And their rooms were close together," added Phoebe, "perfect for a nameplate swap. Bella even told the recipient to check the nameplate."

"But what's the purpose of calling on someone while keeping the exchange a secret?" objected Giselle.

"We'll need to know what happened after the recipient went inside," suggested Phoebe.

"We don't know who the culprit is," said Nathan, "even if he is the one who stumbled upon that note."

"I took notice of the practice sword in my room," mentioned Ivy, "Bella gave that to me to use as self-defense, so it must've been used during the struggle. The culprit might've used that to break Bella's wrist."

"How do you know that?" asked Sara.

"While examining her corpse," explained Ivy, "I noticed golden stains on her broken right wrist suggesting it. Another way to prove it that the golden stains come off pretty easily by just touching it, since most of the gold was missing from the hilt."

"All right!" chirped Ebony, "let's expose every detail of that mystery!"

"When the struggle began in that room," replied Keanu, "maybe the culprit drew the practice sword and dealt the first strike?"

"Not really," blurted Ivy, "there was also a slash mark on the scabbard, so I'm guessing that the knife was behind it."

"How could the scabbard be damaged?" objected Edward.

"What if the culprit was attacked with the knife and he used the practice sword for self defense?" suggested Phoebe.

"Then that means the first one to strike was the one who held the knife!" commented Jenna.

"Bella's palms were clean," reminded Ivy, "so it's possible that she attacked with the knife."

"You can tell from just her clean hands?" pondered Giselle.

Ivy nodded.

"Couldn't she have washed her hands if she used the practice sword?" blurted Joan.

"No," answered Ivy, "the attack took place during nighttime, so water wouldn't be running at that time."

"Wait," paused Jonas, "if Bella used the knife to attack first, then does that mean she was planning to murder the culprit?"

"Looks like it," nodded Ivy, "and if she was trying to frame me for her own crime after that, I'd feel rather...upset because I would've been betrayed."

"So Bella proposed the room exchange to do just that?" mused Atlantiana.

"If she hadn't swapped the nameplates," replied Giselle, "then the culprit would've known about the exchange and that would raise a red flag."

"Her dad is the police chief," mentioned Edward.

"But," continued Giselle, "her plan ended in failure."

"Maybe it's because she doubted herself or something," assumed Jenna.

"And you still haven't found the villain, yet?" reminded Loki, "I thought you gathered enough evidence to prove it."

"We're just getting to the point, Loki," sighed Ivy, "please be patient."

Loki gave Ivy a blank stare.

"I'm listening," replied Loki.

"I also found Bella's dying message on the shower wall in the crime scene," said Ivy, "the letters are written upside down, but if you rotate it 180 degrees, you can read the message easily."

"Then again," added Phoebe, "since her right wrist was broken, she resorted to using her left hand based on the blood on her left index finger. She also wrote it in such a way the culprit wouldn't notice."

"Could you show us the message?" requested Sara.

Phoebe pulled out her identification tablet and brought up the image of Bella's dying message. She then turned it upside down and flashed it to everyone in the courtroom.

"Wait a minute," gasped Ebony, "there's only one guest here who's named Joan!"

Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Ebony, Atlantiana, Giselle, Jenna, Jonas, Keanu, Nathan and Sara turned their heads at Joan and glared at her.

"What?" panicked Joan, "no! I didn't kill Bella!"

"Really?" demanded Jonas, "then where were you last night?"

"Leave me alone, you evil sinners!" screamed Joan, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Hold on, Joan! There's also evidence that you tried to destroy evidence," interrupted Ivy, "since Nathan's the janitor, you couldn't get the shutters open, and we found a smashed glass ball and a burnt dress shirt cuff in the trash room."

"There are some other people here who wear dress shirt cuffs!" protested Joan.

"Can you draw the conclusion of what happened?" asked Phoebe.

"Yeah, I get the picture now," nodded Ivy, "shortly after Bella and I exchanged rooms, she swapped the nameplates, wrote down the note and slipped it underneath the door to the culprit's room, telling her to come meet her in my room. When the culprit entered my room, Bella attacked her with the knife, so she used the scabbard of the practice sword to block the attack. During the struggle, the culprit drew the practice sword and used it to break Bella's wrist, forcing her to drop the knife. Since Bella lost the fight, she retreated to the bathroom and locked the door, so the culprit went back to her room and used her tool set to break the lock by removing the screws. Once the culprit entered the shower, she used the stolen knife and stabbed Bella to her death. But with her last remaining strength, Bella wrote her dying message behind her back so the culprit wouldn't notice. Once the culprit committed the murder, she used the lint roller to clean the floor in order to remove any evidence that she visited my room. The culprit found Ebony's crystal ball in the laundry room, took off her dress shirt and headed for the trash room, where she threw the crystal ball through the shutters to turn on the incinerator. She then balled up her dress shirt and threw it into the incinerator, but she didn't pay attention to the fact that a dress shirt cuff would fall off. Isn't that right, Joan St. Sanctuary Louisa-Smith?!"


	9. A Brutal Execution

Joan tried to open her mouth to protest, but she couldn't say anything. This was made worse when Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Atlantiana, Ebony, Jenna, Giselle, Sara, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan were glaring at her.

"So have you reached your conclusion?" reminded Loki, "now's the time to cast your vote by pressing the switch in front of you, and don't take your vote very lightly. Will your answer be correct or will your answer be wrong?"

Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Atlantiana, Ebony, Jenna, Giselle, Sara, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan flipped through the names using the switches and found Joan's name. Without hesitation, they cast their vote, sending the perpetrator's name to a projected screen just above the throne. After a moment of silence...

"Your answer is correct," announced Loki, "the culprit responsible for Bella Swan's death...is Joan St. Sanctuary Louisa-Smith!"

"But...but I had no choice!" protested Joan, "it was all her fault! It was only self defense!"

"If you were defending yourself," reminded Loki, "you would've left Bella alone after you broke her wrist...but you didn't. You deliberately went after her so you could finish her off, didn't you?"

"I just need to find a church so I can pray to God for forgiveness!" blurted Joan.

"And what if your false god doesn't forgive you?" smirked Loki.

Joan could do nothing but stammer.

"Please," begged Joan, "leave me alone!"

"If we did select the right culprit," said Phoebe, "then that would mean..."

"It means that the culprit has to suffer the consequences," answered Loki, "you understand what I mean, right?"

"No!" pleaded Joan, "please, don't! You can't do this!"

"I am the king of this palace," reminded Loki, "you don't get a free pass from your incoming punishment. The time has come for you to succumb to justice!"

Loki stood up from his throne and raised his scepter into the air. The scepter's gem began to glow, which teleported Joan out of the courtroom.

"Where did she go?!" exclaimed Giselle.

"You will follow me," commanded Loki, "it is important that you all witness this necessary event."

Loki stepped toward a door and opened before leading Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Atlantiana, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna, Sara, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan down the hall until they reached a massive room, where they could see a flammable house next to a trigger. Above the house, they could see a screen showing Joan struggling to escape the house, and for some reason, Ivy couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"You're not..." muttered Ivy.

Loki fired a beam at the trigger from his scepter, which instantly set the house on fire. Ivy could only watch helplessly as Joan tried to flee the raging flames even if she couldn't escape. Seeing Joan screaming and trying to avoid the flames caused Ivy to freeze in place. She couldn't bring herself to say anything or even move, knowing that she could do nothing to stop the terror. Minutes later, the burning house collapsed in on itself and crushed Joan, burning and killing her instantly. She was able to handle the murder, the investigation and the trial, but she never thought that the execution would be terrifying to the point where her mind would freeze up. Ivy never thought that Loki would be this cruel, and now she is much more frightened of him to the point where she couldn't trust him. They knew Joan did commit a crime, but the sight was still scarring. After several more minutes, the flames died down, and Ivy could catch a glimpse of Joan's burnt corpse underneath the rubble. Now she couldn't even attempt to erase the images of the execution that still kept playing in her head, and she struggled to hold back her tears.

"This can't be," gasped Jenna.

"Why?" peeped Giselle.

Ivy still couldn't say anything, and the mental images were too overwhelming, so she fell onto her back and lost her consciousness, catching Loki's attention.

"Ivy!" panicked Phoebe.

"Do we really have to continue this?" whispered Sara.

"I suggest that you let go of Midgard and accept your new lives in this palace," suggested Loki.

Loki approached Ivy and knelt down before lifting her into his arms.

"What are you planning to do to her?!" demanded Edward.

"I have no intentions of harming Ivy," assured Loki, "she just passed out."

"When God hears about this," warned Sara, "he will send you to hell!"

"Do I look like I'm worried about your false god?" remarked Loki, "are you all upset with me?"

"You have scarred many minds," nodded Phoebe.

"In that case," suggested Loki, "you should learn to cope with it and accept your new reality. I am not all flowers and rainbows here. If, by any chance, you decide to abandon the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church for your own sake, I would gladly welcome you to my side. I will open the second floor within a few hours. Until then, you are dismissed."

Loki led Phoebe, Edward, Atlantiana, Ebony, Jenna, Sara, Giselle, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan out of the courtroom and back to the first floor while still carrying Ivy. Jonas, Keanu and Nathan gathered at the courtyard while Loki ascended the stairs in the foyer toward his bedroom.

"What do you think Loki meant by abandoning the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church?" asked Keanu.

"That's obviously what Loki wants us to do," answered Jonas, "he's obviously working for Satan."

"Satan?!" exclaimed Nathan.

"He's trying to turn us into Satan worshippers," continued Jonas, "but if we do that, God will send us to hell to be damned for eternity. We can't let that happen!"

Little did they know, Phoebe was also out in the courtyard and she overheard the conversation.

"Didn't you hear Loki saying that he is a god?" interrupted Phoebe, "according to Ivy, he's the Norse God of Mischief."

"Well, she's obviously lying to you!" spat Keanu, "she's a devil worshipper!"

"You are mistaken," corrected Phoebe, "Ivy does not perform Satanist rituals nor is she religious. She is constantly evolving from traditions that are outdated, since they don't last forever."

"Yeah, right," scoffed Keanu, "wait until God puts you bitches in your place."

"Your threat is not even harmful," replied Phoebe, "and your religion does not excuse your bigotry."

Phoebe turned around and stepped back into the palace, leaving the boys bewildered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tony Stark just finished installing a new power generator into the cables connected to Stark Tower while submerged in water. This was going to help Stark Tower use sufficient clean energy as he then flew out of the water in his mechanical suit. After only a short flight, he arrived at Stark Tower and landed on the platform, his machines emerging to take off the suit piece by piece.

"Sir," reported Jarvis, "Agent Coulson is on the line."

"Sorry, Jarvis," replied Tony, "I'm out all week. I have a date tonight."

Now that he was out of his mechanical suit, Tony stepped into the tower, where Pepper was waiting.

"You look lovely tonight," said Tony.

"Thanks," smiled Pepper, handing Tony a glass of champagne, "I spent all afternoon shredding pamphlets from the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church."

"That's a good thing," commented Tony, "because I hate it when they keep spamming me with messages of them wanting me to join their charade."

"Sir," said Jarvis, "I am receiving a call from Reverend Roberts."

"Just ignore it," advised Tony, "he'll eventually give up."

Tony and Pepper stepped toward the dining room, where they served themselves dinner and sat down on the same table before they started eating. While they were in the middle of their date…

"Sir," warned Jarvis, "my protocols are being overridden. Agent Coulson is on his way."

"Damn it," grumbled Tony, "I don't have time for his business!"

Just as Tony said that, Phil Coulson entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt your little date, Mr. Stark," said Phil, "but I have something important to tell you."

"All right, make it quick," sighed Tony.

Phil pulled out some files containing the other candidates for the Avengers Initiative as well as the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church.

"Oh, come on!" spat Tony, "please don't tell me you joined that pack of goofballs!"

"I didn't," assured Phil, "Director Fury is suspecting the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church of being a terrorist organization. He also wants me to inform you about some disappearances."

"So you're sending me to search for abductees?" assumed Tony.

Phil didn't say anything, but he placed the high-tech files on the table, allowing Tony and Pepper to read them carefully. Among those files included the profiles of Ivy Spade, Phoebe Collins, Sara Osborne, Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, Atlantiana Rebekah Loren, Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way, Joan St. Sanctuary Louisa-Smith, Jenna Silverblade, Giselle Yvonne Delacroix, Jonas Xander Devereaux, Keanu Baden Haviland Hunter and Nathan Quentin Uberto Emerentius.

"I guess the girls look pretty cute," commented Tony.

"Tony," scolded Pepper.

"Just kidding," laughed Tony.

"These are the missing people," explained Phil, "and we suspect that they have been kidnapped by an Asgardian."

"Do I look like I have time for Norse fairy tales?" objected Tony.

"You see," continued Phil, "Ivy Spade and Phoebe Collins are college students studying for criminology while the other abductees are devoted members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church. This organization told Agent Barton that a mysterious man appeared out of nowhere and stole their relic a month ago. We suspect that the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church had the Tesseract in their possession and this Asgardian that committed the kidnappings took the Tesseract from them beforehand."

"I heard from a few atheists that this organization is full of bigots," said Tony, "maybe Reindeer Games doesn't like bigots."

"Would you be willing to help find the Asgardian and his hostages?" asked Phil.

"I'll get ready to meet this Nick Fury guy tomorrow," nodded Tony.


	10. Entering the Second Floor

_Ivy couldn't move a single muscle or make a single sound as she stood and watched helplessly in a butchery while her colleagues were brutally slaughtered by shadowed figures. She was worried that it wouldn't be long before she was next. While she was helplessly watching the slaughter, the building suddenly started burning, forcing the shadowed figures to panic and frantically search for the exit. Ivy wanted to escape as well, but she couldn't even run. As panic began to flood into her mind, she felt someone grab her shoulder from behind._

" _Ivy," whispered the mysterious voice._

_Ivy recognized the British accent, but she still couldn't bring herself to scream. Seconds later, the building started to collapse on itself, so she squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating her inevitable death._

" _Ivy," called the British voice, "wake up!"_

* * *

Ivy slowly opened her eyes, only to find that she was laying on a canopy bed. Wait a minute, this wasn't her bedroom! Whose bedroom is it? Questions began to flood her mind as she turned over to find that the bedroom she was in was much more majestic, even luxurious. She could even see a door that led to the master bathroom, so she quickly realized that she must've been dreaming.

"Finally," sighed the familiar British voice, "you're awake."

Ivy turned her head to the source of the voice and noticed that Loki was kneeling next to the bed. This time, he wasn't in his majestic robes and he was not wearing his cape or helmet.

"Loki?" warbled Ivy.

"You passed out a few hours ago," explained Loki, "so I brought you here so you could rest for a while."

Ivy slowly sat up, remembering the images of the brutal execution and she scooted away from Loki, glaring at him.

"Did I upset you?" asked Loki.

"What you did," snarled Ivy, "was cruel...even for a Norse god!"

"Reality has the capability of being just as cruel," replied Loki.

"Have you no shame for what you did?!" snapped Ivy.

"Why do you show sympathy for a member of an organization dedicated to forcing other people to convert to their beliefs through means of violence?" demanded Loki.

"You mean," paused Ivy, "the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church?"

Loki nodded.

"That execution was nothing compared to the horrors I've seen before I brought you to this palace," said Loki, keeping a stern face.

"What horrors?" asked Ivy.

"I'll explain everything to you later," answered Loki.

"What would Odin say to you if he learned about what you're doing?" demanded Ivy.

Loki glared at Ivy.

"Don't bring up my father," growled Loki, "if I had to confront Odin about this issue, I would tell him that I had done so for a reason, not because of some sick pleasure."

Loki let out a sigh.

"You are free to leave," continued Loki.

"And the crime scene?" clamored Ivy.

"I used my magic to restore your room to its original state," assured Loki.

Loki pulled out Ivy's room key from his pocket as Ivy got out of the bed and placed it in her hands.

"I would still advise you to not lose this," continued Loki.

Nodding in agreement, Ivy stashed her room key into her fanny pack, which also held her identification tablet, and stepped out of Loki's bedroom before pulling out her identification tablet from her fanny pack. She was able to use the map to find the stairs that led to the foyer. Once she reached the first floor, she came across Giselle.

"Oh, thank the lord of light," chirped Giselle, "you're awake! Loki just opened the second floor for us."

"He did?" paused Ivy.

"Yes," nodded Giselle, "and we just started exploring it. Would you like to tag along?"

"Uh, sure," nodded Ivy, "I'll lead the way."

Ivy led Giselle up the stairs and into the second floor. They wandered around, taking note of the storage rooms and the lost and found stations. They reached the massive doors on the top of the stairs leading to the foyer and opened them, compelling them to head inside. They found themselves in a huge room with an elaborate throne on the other side.

"This must be the throne room," said Ivy.

"If only I was allowed to inherit this palace," sighed Giselle, "I could sit on it with my sun and stars by my side."

"Optimus?" paused Ivy, "how did you two meet?"

"He rescued me from xenomorphs," explained Giselle, "it was love at first sight."

"Have you fallen in love with anyone else before?" asked Ivy.

"No," answered Giselle, "but once I'm out of this palace, I plan to marry him the minute I return to his world."

Giselle leaned closer to Ivy's ear.

"Good thing I gave him my virginity beforehand," whispered Giselle.

"And you didn't tell the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church about it?" paused Ivy, "how were you able to pull that off? You're seventeen."

Giselle let out a sigh.

"I lied to him about his age so I could do it," admitted Giselle, "but when Optimus found out about my real age, he and Sentinel lectured me on how it was wrong to lie about your age just to make sweet love to an older man."

"There is a reason for that," replied Ivy, "it's because pedophilia is actually wrong. You could've gotten Optimus in big trouble for that."

"Maybe you're right," sighed Giselle, "he told me to not attempt to seduce him again until I become an adult."

Ivy glanced around the throne room, and to her relief, there wasn't anyone else besides herself and Giselle.

"What other secrets have you not told anyone else?" asked Ivy.

"My sun and stars told me that he liked both men and women," answered Giselle, "so I offered to keep it a secret for him."

"Ok," suggested Ivy, "let's get moving. There's plenty more to see on this floor."

Ivy and Giselle left the throne room and wandered through the hallway until they headed inside the library.

"All right!" chirped Ivy, "a library! Maybe I can find books about the flowers in the garden."

"Jenna is good at gardening," mentioned Giselle, "she told me so while we were watching over the crime scene earlier today."

Ivy and Giselle started to explore the library, taking note of the fact that it was well lit and had an array of books such as Asgardian history, Asgardian literature, and even books about math, science and even Earth's history. Ivy noticed Jonas searching the library as well.

"Hey, Jonas," called Ivy, "did you find anything interesting?"

Jonas paused in his tracks and glanced at Ivy.

"I can't find any Bibles here," groaned Jonas, "it's as if Loki wants us to stop believing in God."

"Or maybe it's the fact that Asgardians are not Christians," replied Ivy, "that's why there are no Bibles here."

"Then when the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church gets the Relic of God back," declared Jonas, "we will invade Asgard and force them to convert to Christianity."

Little did Jonas know, Loki stepped into the library and overheard the Christian teenage boy's words.

"That would be a fatal mistake, Jonas," interrupted Loki, "Odin is more powerful than your army and if you attempted to invade Asgard, not only you would fail, but Midgard would suffer serious collateral damage in the potential war. Even if you wanted to invade Asgard, you cannot reach it right now."

Ivy turned to Loki.

"Why not?" asked Ivy.

"The Bifrost Bridge has been damaged, so Asgardians can't travel to Midgard right now," answered Loki.

"So how were you able to get to Earth and transport us here?" clamored Giselle.

"I recovered a relic that I will not explain to you about in heavy detail," replied Loki.

Loki turned around and stepped out of the library.

"Come on, Jonas," persuaded Ivy, "don't be sad. Think of this as a chance to learn more about where Loki came from."

"How?" demanded Jonas.

"By reading books about Asgardian history," suggested Ivy.

Giselle found a door that led to a closet and inside, there were a few extension cords and a few table lamps.

"I wonder if we could use these table lamps for places that are not that well lit," pondered Giselle.

Giselle stepped out of the storage room and closed the door before approaching Ivy, catching her attention.

"Are you finished checking out the library?" asked Ivy.

"Yes," nodded Giselle, "I'm ready to continue exploring."

Ivy and Giselle stepped out of the library and continued to venture through the hallway of the second floor. They came across a pair of doors, which they stepped through only to find themselves in some sort of lobby. Ahead, they could see two doors with signs each indicating a different gender.

"I wonder if this is the gym," pondered Giselle.

"We'll have to find out ourselves," suggested Ivy.

Ivy and Giselle approached the door with the female sign and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Huh?" warbled Giselle, "it won't open!"

Just as Giselle said that, Loki entered the room.

"If you wish to enter the changing room to the pool," Loki suggested, "use your identification tablet on the card reader next to the door."

Startled, Giselle yelped and snapped her head at Loki.

"Loki, why do you keep popping out of nowhere?!" demanded Giselle.

"So I can give you advice," explained Loki.

Ivy pulled out her identification tablet and checked the map, confirming that she is in the lobby that led to the pool.

"Oh, so there is a pool after all!" mused Ivy.

"But I must warn you that since you're women," continued Loki, "you can only enter the women's changing room."

"What if someone were to sneak in while someone else has the door open?" objected Giselle.

"I have placed an alarm for such an occasion," explained Loki, "so no one of the opposite gender would sneak into the changing room while the doors are open, but if they do succeed, then I will have to remove them personally."

"What if someone were to borrow another's identification tablet?" objected Ivy, "such as a male borrowing a female's identification tablet to enter the women's changing room."

Loki's eyes widened in shock before he narrowed them in disappointment.

"Damn it," muttered Loki, "I didn't think of such a possible loophole! Very well, here's a new rule: You are forbidden from lending your identification tablet to others."

"I doubt anyone here would entrust their identification tablet to another, anyway," sighed Giselle.

"Although," continued Loki, "if you are willing to engage in sexual acts, I suggest you keep it in the dormitory bedrooms or dormitory bathrooms. Anywhere else would result in some disciplinary action."

"So you don't care if someone rapes another guest?" reminded Ivy.

Loki gave Ivy a blank stare in a moment silence.

"You made a good point, Ivy," replied Loki, "in fact, I personally forbid all forms of sexual assault, since it's severely frowned upon in Asgard."

Loki flicked his hand, which caused three new rules to appear in the list of regulations in Ivy's identification tablet.

"I'll let you continue exploring," said Loki.

Loki stepped out of the lobby, leaving Ivy and Giselle behind. Ivy carefully read the map for a moment.

"Why don't we check out the bathhouse?" suggested Ivy.

"A bathhouse?" paused Giselle.

"I have a feeling that the bathhouse is inspired by the Japanese bathhouse," mused Ivy, "in Japan, you basically wash yourself before you step into the tub."

"I'd love to check it out!" chirped Giselle.

Ivy led Giselle out of the lobby to the pool and down the hallway until they reached the dressing room to the bathhouse. They peeked through the door leading to the bathhouse and noticed that there were similar elements you would find in a Japanese public bath.

"This is sweet!" smiled Giselle, "I'm going to try taking a bath. Would you like to join?"

"No thanks," blurted Ivy, "but I'll tell everyone else to not intrude on you. I'll see you at the dining hall!"

"Bye!" replied Giselle.

Ivy stepped out of the bathhouse as Giselle started taking off her clothes. Ivy returned to the library to find a book about plants, hoping that it would help her out in the event she decided to help Jenna with the gardening.


	11. A Swimming Race

That night, Loki took notice that all of the guests in the palace were asleep in the dormitories. Right now, he figured that he could try to contact his mother, who was still in Asgard, even if he knew that they couldn't reach him. Fortunately, he had the Tesseract, but he wasn't sure if everyone else would welcome him if he used it to teleport himself back to Asgard. He had a sneaky suspicion that Odin would have him arrested on the spot, so the safest option was to contact someone he could trust. He stepped into the control room in his study on the fourth floor and approached the Tesseract. He brought his scepter close to the glowing cube to test its power. After observing the Tesseract's reaction for a few moments, Loki withdrew the scepter and stepped toward a circle of bricks. Once he sat down, he activated his scepter in an effort to contact his mother in Asgard. After waiting for a few moments, a magical hologram appeared, but to his surprise, it wasn't Frigga, but…

"Loki?!" exclaimed Odin, "how were you able to reach Asgard? The Bifrost Bridge is destroyed."

Loki wanted to dispel the hologram, but he wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

"I...I recovered the Tesseract," stammered Loki.

"We thought you were dead," replied Odin.

"I survived the fall," explained Loki, "only to be taken prisoner by Thanos. I stole the scepter from him and escaped to Midgard, where I found the Tesseract, which happened to be in the possession of an organization bent on forcing the other mortals to convert to an oppressive religion."

"What else have you been doing?" demanded Odin.

"I...transported some of the organization's members to the realm which I'm seeking refuge in," confessed Loki, "beforehand, I went undercover to learn the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church's darkest secrets, and these mortals are being used as weapons against the rest of Midgard."

"Do you intend to kill them?" asked Odin.

"By sacrificing them," nodded Loki, "the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church's greatest offense would be compromised."

"I believe you on the part that you needed to take care of a threat that could harm the Midgardians," replied Odin, "but I do not approve of you slaughtering mortals as part of your agenda."

"And yet you lead Asgardians into battle countless times," mentioned Loki.

Odin glared at Loki.

"Don't question my authority, Loki," growled Odin, "I did not raise you just so you could hate yourself."

Loki gave Odin a blank stare.

"I understand," sighed Loki, "but I have also found two recruits that would help me take down this organization."

"Very well," declared Odin, "I will get ready to send Thor to come find you. I expect you to have important information on the organization and the Tesseract by the time he gets here. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," nodded Loki.

Without saying anything further, Loki dispelled the hologram. He stepped out of the control room and locked the door to his study before meandering back to his bedroom, ready to retire for the night. This could be a chance for him to redeem himself, apart from the Mary Sues that he's holding captive. He knew he was playing a dangerous game, but it was nothing compared to the brutality Thanos was capable of doing. Once Loki was in his bedroom, he put away the scepter and changed into his night apparel before nestling into his canopy bed, trying to take his mind off what Thanos put him through. He personally vowed that he would never let the alien warlord get his hands on the Tesseract. He refused to bow to this evil titan. He replaced the painful thoughts with how he could earn his trust with Ivy and Phoebe for this upcoming objective as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Sara was in the middle of washing the dishes while Ivy was reading through a book about flowers in the library, hoping to identify the ones in the courtyard garden. So far, she was able to identify the ones from Earth and she was now hoping to identify the exotic flowers that weren't from Earth. Ivy eventually decided that she would at least borrow the book in her hand until she identified such flowers, so she stepped out of the library and walked down the stairs into the foyer. She then stepped outside into the courtyard and found Jenna in the garden. Ivy's presence was just enough to catch Jenna's attention.

"Hello, Ivy," smiled Jenna, "it's so good to see you!"

"You, too," nodded Ivy, "I was just going to try identifying the rest of the flowers."

Jenna continued to tend to the garden while Ivy carefully read the book, making sure to identify the correct flowers. Within a matter of minutes, she was able to do just that.

"Funny," commented Ivy, "some of these flowers in this book are from Asgard, but I can't seem to find them in this garden."

"I think it's because he hasn't been to Asgard recently," assumed Jenna.

"Yeah," agreed Ivy, "you're right. Maybe there is a reason why Loki is reluctant to use whatever relic he got ahold of to take him there."

"And you're not going to ask him?" asked Jenna.

"No," Ivy shook her head, "I'd probably upset him. I'm heading back to the library."

Ivy closed the book and stepped back into the foyer, ascending the staircase and wandering through the hallway until she reached the library, where she put the book back. Once she completed the task, she noticed Giselle reading a book while sitting in an armchair. Ivy didn't want to bother her, so she stepped out of the library and headed for the lobby to the pool, figuring that she could use a good swim. She used her identification tablet against the card reader to enter the women's dressing room, where she changed into her swimsuit, which happened to be a cute bikini. She placed her items into a locker before heading out to the pool, where she could see Atlantiana sitting at the pool's edge.

"You're here, too?" paused Ivy.

"Should I ask Edward out?" asked Atlantiana.

"I don't know, Tiana," answered Ivy, "I think he needs time before he can move on. I mean, he lost two girls that were in love with him."

"I see," sighed Atlantiana, "I have these images of the execution stuck in my head and I want to drown them out with some heroin, but I can't seem to find it anywhere."

"I don't think Loki would allow usage of such drugs," objected Ivy, "besides, those drugs can be addictive and dangerous."

"You're not going to throw me in prison for that, are you?" demanded Atlantiana.

"I don't think so," assured Ivy, "I was going to consider addiction treatment that could help you in health terms."

"You mean," paused Atlantiana, "you don't believe anyone should go to jail for drugs?"

"Not really," answered Ivy, "I personally would recommend the treatment to lower the amount of inmates."

"Oh," inquired Atlantiana, "so what are you doing here?"

"You see," explained Ivy, "I came out here to go for a swim."

"Really?" chirped Atlantiana, "then I challenge you to a swimming race!"

"Ok then," nodded Ivy, "how does that work?"

"Whoever swims to the other side and back first wins," suggested Atlantiana.

"You're on," smirked Ivy.

Ivy and Atlantiana stepped into the pool and without hesitation, they began the race. Both girls were pretty athletic and neither of them were willing to give in to defeat. They swam to the other side to the pool while attempting to swim ahead of one another. Ivy reached the other side of the pool first and took a moment to rest while Atlantiana caught up. Once Ivy finished resting, she started swimming back to the starting position, with Atlantiana following suit and catching up to her. During the last half of the race, Atlantiana started swimming ahead of Ivy, and as a result, Atlantiana reached the starting position, thus winning the race. Both girls climbed out of the pool and sat on the edge to rest.

"I have to admit," panted Ivy, "you're pretty good at swimming."

"You made a good point," agreed Atlantiana, "it really is fun to go swimming with someone."

"I'm glad I suggested this," smiled Ivy, "did you at least have fun?"

Atlantiana nodded. Ivy stood to her feet and fetched a towel from a rack to dry herself up.

"Well," said Ivy, "you can continue swimming if you'd like. I'll see you later!"

"Bye!" replied Atlantiana.

Once she finished resting up, Atlantiana hopped into the pool and started swimming again as Ivy went back to the women's dressing room to slip out of her swimsuit and change back into her daytime apparel. She fastened her fanny pack and left the dressing room, hoping to hang out with Phoebe for the rest of the day.


	12. The Second Incentive

Tony found himself on the deck of the helicarrier while standing before Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton.

"So you got the same message as I did?" asked Tony.

"Yeah," nodded Bruce, "I could check for gamma readings to help locate the Tesseract, which would lead us to this Asgardian and his hostages."

"What if this extremist organization managed to recover the Tesseract before we find it?" objected Steve.

"They could use it to transport invaders that could destroy us," assumed Natasha, "they were able to transport some of their most loyal members here using the Tesseract."

"And yet this Norse god snatched them out of their hands," added Clint.

Steve carefully read the file concerning the Asgardian found in New Mexico.

"I heard of the Asgardian in New Mexico," replied Steve, "but I only know one God, and he does not dress like that."

"How about we head inside to discuss the plan?" suggested Tony, "I could put on the suit when the need arises for it."

Nodding in agreement, Steve led Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Clint inside the helicarrier and toward a conference room, hoping to come up with a plan to solve the mysterious disappearances and learn the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church's plans.

* * *

A few days later, Ivy was sitting in the library while reading about Asgard's history. She was quite surprised that there were differences between Asgardian history and the Norse mythology, but she figured that it was worth expanding her horizon. It was only a while before Ivy finished reading the book currently in her possession, so she put it back onto the shelf. She was about to pick out another book when Jonas walked in, catching her attention.

"What do you want?" demanded Ivy.

"Since there is no way out," explained Jonas, "I was going to search the palace for my Bible."

"You had a Bible?" paused Ivy.

"Yes," nodded Jonas, "but it seems that Loki confiscated it on the day we were kidnapped."

"Why are you bringing up the issue now?" asked Ivy.

"Because all members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church are required to carry their own Bible," answered Jonas, "I asked the other girls in the palace to take my hand in marriage except for Atlantiana, but they just wouldn't accept it."

"It's probably because they're not interested in you," suggested Ivy.

"But why?" protested Jonas, "I'm the most godly man to ever exist!"

Ivy instantly burst into laughter, much to Jonas's confusion.

"You claim to be better than anyone else?" reminded Ivy, "what about the times you hurt the other girls' feelings? That is not what makes a man great. You're supposed to treat women with respect."

"Ok," demanded Jonas, "you need to give up being a feminist and learn how to be a submissive wife."

Ivy glared at Jonas.

"You can't tell me what to do, Jonas," snapped Ivy, "I am not a toy designed to please douchebags like you!"

"But you would be so much happier as a mother," insisted Jonas.

Ivy instantly clenched her fists. She was not willing to let a conservative Christian boy put her underneath him.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, YOU MISOGYNIST JACKASS!" shouted Ivy.

"Don't you speak to me with that tone of voice," scolded Jonas, "now go make me a sandwich."

Ivy furrowed her eyes even further at Jonas. He was definitely out of line.

"That's it, you have ten seconds to get out of the library before I smash your head into the wall!" warned Ivy.

"But if you do that, Loki would execute you," smirked Jonas, "you don't want that, do you?"

Little did Jonas know, Loki overheard the argument and stepped into the library.

"You did not read the rules carefully, Jonas," interrupted Loki.

Startled, Jonas jumped back and glanced at Loki.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Jonas.

"I heard you two arguing," explained Loki, "as I was saying, if one of the star detectives were to murder one of the guests, they would not face execution."

Loki glanced at Ivy softly, much to her confusion.

"I would pick a different disciplinary method for them," continued Loki.

Frustrated, Jonas stormed out, much to Ivy's relief.

"Was he bothering you?" asked Loki.

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "he doesn't know how to treat a woman right."

"I agree with you," agreed Loki.

"But," continued Ivy, "what did you mean by different disciplinary method?"

"May I demonstrate it to you?" requested Loki.

Ivy stared into Loki's emerald green eyes in a moment of silence, trying to read his expression. There didn't seem to be malice in his expression, but rather calmness. She figured that she could endure what he might throw at her as long as he doesn't hurt her.

"Go ahead," nodded Ivy, "I can handle it."

Upon cue, Loki stepped closer to Ivy and gently cupped her face with his hand. After gazing into her blue eyes for a moment, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, sending a chill down her spine as she blushed. Ivy started suspecting that Loki was starting to fall for her, so she closed her eyes and perched her hand behind his neck. She was no longer sure whether she should trust him or not. She was now determined to uncover his motive no matter what it took. Moments later, Loki broke off the kiss, allowing Ivy to take in a breath of air.

"That's it?" blurted Ivy.

"Well, there's more than that," clarified Loki, "I have desires of my own, so should you kill one of the guests, you should consider fulfilling my desires…then I would fulfill yours in exchange."

"So what did I do to make you interested in me?" clamored Ivy.

Loki gave Ivy a puzzled look.

"I'm not sure," admitted Loki, "it's probably your talent in solving mysteries."

"What other secrets do you hold?" insisted Ivy.

"Would you hate me if I showed you my true form?" asked Loki.

"I'm more concerned about your actions than your looks," answered Ivy.

Upon cue, Loki changed his skin color to blue and his eyes changed to red, and ridges began appearing on his skin. Ivy didn't appear to flinch.

"Wow," commented Ivy, "you look different."

"You're not bothered by the fact that I'm the monster the parents of Asgard tell their children about at night?" pondered Loki.

"I heard of Frost Giants in one of the books in this library," nodded Ivy, "but the fact that you're one of them doesn't really bother me as long as you don't terrorize the human race."

Giving a soft smile, Loki shifted back to his Asgardian form.

"It's not terrorism I seek," explained Loki, "I seek to bring down the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church for the sake of the humans."

"Is it because they spew misogynistic crap and try to force Christianity down other peoples's throats?" clarified Ivy.

"It's a start," nodded Loki, "I should get going."

As Loki left the library, Ivy smiled, knowing that she got the basic information about Loki's true objective, so she figured that if she could get the Mary Sues and Gary Stus to quit the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church, she might be able to appease Loki…somehow. She returned to finding another book related to Asgardian history so she could read in peace.

* * *

Later that evening, Ivy was rather quiet while she ate her dinner in the dining hall. She sat in a table along the wall away from the huge table in the center and she requested Phoebe to join her. Ivy would occasionally shoot a glare at Jonas before she took another bite of grilled salmon.

"Did something happen?" asked Phoebe.

"Jonas said some things that hurt my feelings," explained Ivy, "so I can't trust him."

"And Loki?" pondered Phoebe.

Ivy beckoned Phoebe to lean closer.

"I think Loki doesn't like Christian extremists," whispered Ivy.

"Do you plan on investigating him?" inquired Phoebe.

"When the opportunity comes along," nodded Ivy.

Ivy turned her head at Loki, who was just finishing up his dinner. He stood from his seat and carried his dishes to the kitchen. After a few minutes, the God of Mischief emerged from the kitchen and approached the central table, catching Edward, Atlantiana, Ebony, Giselle, Sara, Jenna, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan's attention.

"You've got a complaint with us or something?" demanded Edward.

"I'm disappointed that neither of you have been plotting your murder," explained Loki, "so I figured I should test you all."

"What test?" paused Sara.

With a flick of his hand, Loki conjured several envelopes and placed them on the table.

"These envelopes contain your darkest secrets that many Midgardians would consider shameful," continued Loki, "so you have three choices, I can reveal your secrets to all of Midgard, you could tell the other guests about your secret, or you can kill someone to keep your secret hidden. I will give you one day to make your decision."

The Mary Sues and Gary Stus plucked out their envelopes and opened them before reading the letters inside. In a matter of seconds, their eyes widened in horror.

"How did you get ahold of our secrets?!" yowled Nathan.

"I used my magic to examine your memories while you were asleep," explained Loki.

Nathan began biting his nails nervously as he read his letter containing his shameful secret:

_"Nathan has written a naughty pedophiliac fanfiction where Shrek kidnapped underage girls and made them into sex slaves."_

Keanu glared at Loki after reading his letter:

_"Keanu has written an offensive guide to raping women and distributed it to other frat boys on his campus."_

Jonas clutched his letter close to his chest, making sure no one would see it:

_"Jonas has once threatened a female rape victim into marrying her rapist, claiming that God chose this man for her, thus subjecting her to further trauma."_

Giselle felt a chill sent down her spine after reading her letter, even if she already told Ivy her secret:

_"Giselle has lied to Optimus about her age so she could have sex with him."_

After Sara finished reading her letter, she started to panic, but she tried to hide it from everyone:

_"Sara murdered her best friend Lauren and covered her tracks because Lauren was a lesbian."_

After she read her letter, Jenna began to worry what her husband, Link, would think about her if he found out her secret:

_"Jenna stole valuable treasures from other kingdoms and sold them to Zelda."_

Ebony crumpled up the letter after reading it, and began determining when she should tell Atlantiana about her secret:

_"Ebony murdered preps that constantly tormented her."_

Atlantiana began shaking with fear and slowly put her letter down, afraid that everyone would bully her if they knew her secret:

_"Atlantiana was constantly raped by Uncle Larry and was trying to hide it from everyone."_

After Edward finished reading his letter, shame began to fill his mind as he worried that his family would be in danger if everyone knew their secret:

_"Edward's family hunted humans for blood to supply themselves and the Volturi."_

Just as Ivy finished her dinner, she set off to put the dishes onto the kitchen counter as the Mary Sues and Gary Stus stared at Loki in fear.

"I must admit," said Loki, "the secrets you held would get you in serious trouble...except for one secret, which would only generate sympathy."

"Would you really force someone to commit murder for something so fucking trivial?" objected Ebony.

"It depends on whether you are willing to accept the criticism or not," answered Loki.

Just as Loki left the dining hall, Ivy emerged from the kitchen and approached the table where Phoebe was sitting at.

"I'm surprised Loki didn't give us letters about our secrets...if we had any," commented Phoebe.

"Whatever," sighed Ivy, "I'm going to get some sleep."

Ivy stepped out of the dining hall, only to find Loki standing outside the door.

"You're lucky I chose not to learn any of your secrets," said Loki.

"Because Phoebe and I are the star detectives of this palace, right?" clarified Ivy.

"Your memory is quite impressive, Ivy," nodded Loki.

"Thanks," smiled Ivy, "I'll see you in the morning."

Loki headed in one direction while Ivy wandered through the hallway until she reached the dormitories, stepping into her bedroom so she could get ready to go to sleep.


	13. The Second Murder

The following morning, Ivy was sound asleep in her bed, until…

"Ivy," whispered the familiar British voice, "are you awake? Ivy?"

Ivy slowly opened her eyes, only to find Loki sitting next to her. In a matter of seconds, she yelped in surprise and sat up.

"Loki, how did you get in my room," demanded Ivy, "and what are you doing here?"

"I teleported here," answered Loki, "remember? As for the second question, I decided to try waking you up myself instead of using the intercom to see if it's just as effective."

"You scared the crap out of me!" blurted Ivy.

"You still don't trust me?" asked Loki.

"Not until I know the rest of the details about your objective," answered Ivy.

"I'll tell you everything later," reminded Loki, "please be patient."

Ivy got out of bed and started brushing her hair.

"What else do you want to tell me?" asked Ivy.

"I would like to suggest that you search the palace for anything suspicious after breakfast," suggested Loki, "just in case something happened to one of the other guests."

Ivy felt a chill sent down her spine. Was Loki trying to tell her that someone was murdered or something?

"I'll let you get dressed," continued Loki.

Loki teleported out of the bedroom, allowing Ivy to change into her daytime apparel and fasten her fanny pack. She then gathered her identification tablet and her room key before stepping out of her dormitory bedroom, wandering around the hallway until she reached the dining hall, where Jenna and Sara brought out breakfast. Everyone in the dining hall served themselves before they started eating.

"So," asked Phoebe, "have you guys figured out on what you should do with your secrets?"

"We can't just kill someone just to keep our secrets hidden," said Sara.

"Maybe not," replied Ivy, "but would you guys like to hear my idea?"

Edward, Ebony, Jenna, Giselle, Sara, Jonas, Keanu and Nathan gave Ivy a blank stare.

"I understand that having your secrets spilled is kinda embarrassing," explained Ivy, "but what if we shared our secrets with each other? That way, if a secret happens to involve a bad deed, I could give advice on how to make up for it."

"How would your advice be helpful?" spat Keanu.

"Loki said that telling the others that live here about your secrets is one way to make him happy," answered Ivy, "for example, when I was in high school, I wrote a story where a teenage girl falls for an alien prince and he teaches her about his world, and there are some explicit parts."

"Wow," commented Ebony, "you have some weird preferences."

"Uhh, Ivy," replied Phoebe, "I think Loki heard you."

Ivy turned her head at Loki, who appeared to be giving her a puzzled look.

"Ok," said Ivy, "back to the subject."

"Atlantiana and I shared our secrets with each other last night," replied Ebony.

Phoebe scanned the dining hall, only to notice that Atlantiana wasn't here.

"Strange," asked Phoebe, "where is Atlantiana?"

"I haven't seen her," replied Nathan.

"Me either," added Edward.

"Last time I saw her," answered Ebony, "she said she was going to go for a night swim."

"Ok then," announced Ivy, "after breakfast, I'm going to search for Atlantiana. Any volunteers besides Phoebe?"

"I'll go!" declared Sara.

Once everyone finished breakfast, Ivy, Phoebe and Sara left the dining room and headed for the foyer. They ascended the staircase and scurried for the door to the lobby to the pool. There, they searched the lobby until Phoebe found an identification tablet lying on the floor. She picked it up and turned it on, only to realize…

"This is Atlantiana's identification tablet," said Phoebe.

"What's going on?" asked Sara.

"Why do I get the feeling that something bad happened?" muttered Ivy.

Ivy knew that she couldn't enter the men's dressing room, so she used her identification tablet against the card reader to unlock the door. Once she stepped into the women's dressing room, her eyes widened in horror when she saw Atlantiana's corpse hanging over the floor along the wall.

"Phoebe, Sara," called Ivy in a loud voice, "get over here!"

In a matter of moments, Phoebe and Sara raced into the women's dressing room and noticed Atlantiana's corpse.

"Oh no!" panicked Sara.

"Another murder has taken place," commented Phoebe.

Suddenly, Ivy, Phoebe and Sara heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"A corpse has just been discovered," announced Loki over the intercom, "it is time that our star detectives investigate the crime before the palace trial. I've unlocked all the doors to allow them to carry out the investigation."

"That's our cue," mentioned Phoebe.

"I'll go tell everyone what happened," offered Sara.

Sara sprinted out of the women's changing room as Ivy and Phoebe surveyed the room. Ivy took a picture of the writing on the wall using her identification tablet while Phoebe noticed that an extension cord was used to hang Atlantiana over the floor. Ivy accessed the murder file, which was just sent into her identification tablet to overlook the details:

_"Victim: Atlantiana Rebekah Loren_

_Time of Death: approximately 12:30 a.m._

_Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the head, and the death occurred instantaneously_

_The corpse was discovered in the women's changing room on the second floor of the palace."_

Ivy noticed a dumbbell on the floor that had blood coating one of its ends, so she counted the number of dumbbells in the women's changing room, only to find that the room had five dumbbells.

"Strange," commented Ivy, "the dumbbells here come in pairs, except there is one extra."

"There are supposed to be two pairs of dumbbells," replied Phoebe, "we should check the men's dressing room for the number of dumbbells."

Nodding in agreement, Ivy noticed the trail of blood leading to the pool, so she jotted the note down in her identification tablet. Once Phoebe stashed Atlantiana's identification tablet into her fanny pack, she and Ivy stepped out into the pool, only to notice a puddle of blood just a few feet from the pool.

"That's odd," said Ivy, "do you think Atlantiana was killed here?"

"I'm starting to think the killer dragged her corpse into the women's changing room," assumed Phoebe.

Phoebe and Ivy stepped into the men's changing room and counted the number of dumbbells, but…

"There are only three here," commented Phoebe.

"So there's one missing?" clarified Ivy.

"That probably means the killer has to be male," assumed Phoebe, "now we need to figure out where the extension cord came from."

"An extension cord was used to hang Atlantiana?" paused Ivy.

Phoebe nodded and led Ivy out of the dressing room and out of the lobby before meandering through the hallway until they reached the library. They stepped into the storage room and checked for the number of extension cords.

"Just as I thought," said Phoebe, "there is one missing."

"Ebony said that she and Atlantiana told each other their secrets," mentioned Ivy, "do you think we should ask her?"

"We should," nodded Phoebe.

Ivy and Phoebe left the library and returned to the women's dressing room, only to find Ebony observing Atlantiana's corpse.

"Damn that motherfucker," growled Ebony.

"What's wrong?" asked Phoebe.

Ebony turned her head at Phoebe.

"That motherfucker copied my style!" snapped Ebony.

"So what was your secret?" inquired Ivy.

"I'm so glad you asked me that," smirked Ebony, "because I kill preps using knives. I hang them with rope and I write Prep Blood Fever."

"Are you sure you're not the killer?" interrogated Phoebe.

"Of course not," answered Ebony, "I only kill preps, and Atlantiana is not a prep; she is gothic like me!"

Ivy checked the dressing room, only to find that she, Phoebe and Ebony were the only ones in the room.

"I think someone must've overheard us and copied the idea just to put the blame on me," continued Ebony.

"We're already suspecting that the killer is male," replied Ivy, "do you think we should ask the guys here?"

"If that's what floats your boat, go for it," nodded Ebony, "would you like to know Atlantiana's secret?"

"We're listening," answered Phoebe.

"Atlantiana was constantly raped by her Uncle Larry," explained Ebony, "and she felt unworthy of Edward's love."

"That's so sad," commented Ivy, "we're going to go ask the others."

"Take care!" sang Ebony.

Ivy and Phoebe left the women's dressing room and searched the palace for the males. They asked Edward, Keanu and Nathan if they knew about Atlantiana and Ebony's secrets, but much to their dismay, the boys admitted that they never knew the secrets. Ivy and Phoebe searched the entire palace for Jonas, but they couldn't seem to find him, so they rested at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer.

"Do you think Jonas is hiding something from us?" asked Phoebe.

"At first," answered Ivy, "I thought he was upset that I told him off yesterday, but maybe he is hiding something. Should we check his dormitory bedroom?"

Phoebe nodded, but just as she and Ivy stood to her feet, they heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"I personally thank our star detectives for a splendid investigation," announced Loki over the intercom, "now, everyone must assemble at the elevator in the foyer at once. I will be waiting for you in the courtroom."

"Oh, well," sighed Phoebe, "we could ask Jonas during the trial."

Ivy and Phoebe gathered at the elevator underneath the stairs in the foyer. After a few minutes, Edward, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna, Sara, Keanu and Nathan appeared.

"Say," asked Giselle, "where's Jonas?"

"Last time we saw him," added Jenna, "he was in the dining hall."

"Do you think he is hiding in his dormitory bedroom?" assumed Nathan.

"He'd better get his ass here," grumbled Keanu, brushing his fingers through his green hair.

After waiting for a few minutes, Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Jenna, Ebony, Giselle, Sara, Keanu and Nathan noticed Loki dragging Jonas by the collar toward the elevator.

"Let me go, you devil spawn!" snarled Jonas.

"I noticed that we were short one," explained Loki, "so I had to find him and drag him here by force."

"He's definitely hiding something," whispered Phoebe.

Loki let go of Jonas before teleporting out of the foyer.

"I wish I didn't have to attend the trial," sighed Jonas.

"Didn't you hear Loki say that you have to?" reminded Ivy.

Jonas glared at Ivy during a moment of silence. After that, Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus stepped into the elevator and closed the door behind them. In a matter of seconds, the elevator lowered itself beneath the ground and sank further until it reached the courtroom, where Loki was sitting on his throne while holding his scepter and wearing his majestic apparel, including his cape and helmet.

"Let's get this trial over with," said Phoebe.


	14. The Second Trial

Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna, Sara, Jonas, Nathan and Keanu found their seats with their name on it without hesitation.

"All right," announced Loki, "court is now in session."

"I told everyone in the palace about the murder," explained Sara, "although I couldn't find Jonas anywhere. Could someone tell us what the murder weapon was? I heard that Atlantiana received a blow to her head."

"The murder weapon was a dumbbell," answered Ivy, "we found one with blood on it at the crime scene to prove that. There didn't seem to be anything else that could've done that."

"The wound on the victim's head was in the shape of a dumbbell," added Phoebe.

"You examined her wound?!" exclaimed Nathan, "gross!"

"So that means one of the girls here used a dumbbell to kill Atlantiana, right?" clamored Keanu.

"You got that wrong!" spat Ivy, "there are supposed to be four dumbbells for each room. There were five in the women's changing room."

"So what does that mean?" demanded Sara.

"It means that the men's changing room is missing a dumbbell," clarified Phoebe.

"How was the killer able to enter the men's changing room?" asked Jenna.

"It's possible that the killer is male," assumed Ivy.

"Actually," boasted Jonas, "I know who the killer is, it's the Prep Slayer, aka Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way!"

"Where is the proof?" demanded Phoebe.

"Isn't it obvious?" smirked Jonas, "the Prep Slayer kills people and hangs them above the floor before writing Prep Blood Fever in blood."

"Excuse me?!" roared Ebony, "I don't kill my fellow friends! Besides, I only target preps! Tiana is gothic like me!"

"She's right," agreed Phoebe, "I'm surprised you actually know about Ebony's secret."

"I saw Ebony kill Atlantiana by peeking through the door to the women's changing room," claimed Jonas.

"You pervert!" snapped Giselle.

Loki instantly burst into laughter, much to everyone else's confusion.

"That was a lie. Had you held the door open like that while Atlantiana was inside," explained Loki, "the alarm would've gone off and I would have to drag you out of the room myself."

"And there was no way the murder could've taken place in the women's changing room," added Phoebe, "we found blood near the pool followed by a trail of blood leading to the women's changing room."

"Really?" warbled Sara, "I didn't notice that!"

"If the killer was male," asked Giselle, "then how was he able to enter the women's changing room?"

"He probably used Atlantiana's identification tablet to enter it," answered Phoebe, "we found it in the lobby."

"But," objected Jenna, "didn't the rules say that you're not allowed to lend your identification tablet to anyone?"

"True," nodded Loki, "but I didn't specify that you were forbidden from borrowing another's identification tablet, especially if it belonged to someone who was dead."

"Then why haven't you taken care of that loophole?" objected Edward.

"I chose not to," answered Loki.

"But I still stand on Ebony being the killer," said Jonas.

"I don't kill with dumbbells," snarled Ebony, "I only kill with knives!"

"Come to think of it," mused Sara, "I didn't see any knives at the crime scene."

"Ebony," reminded Phoebe, "you said that Atlantiana went for a night swim, right?"

"Yeah," nodded Ebony, "and an hour before that, we told each other our secrets in the hallway, and then noticed someone spying on us, so I chased him away."

Ivy, Phoebe, the Mary Sues and Gary Stus pondered over what Ebony said in a moment of silence.

"Say," asked Giselle, "is there a rule concerning serial killers?"

"Not yet," suggested Loki, "but I can impose a new rule: The villain can only kill up to two people."

"Thanks," smiled Phoebe, "on with the trial. I'm not sure if we have enough evidence, though."

"Jonas," interrogated Ivy, "you said that you know Ebony's the Prep Slayer. Couldn't you have committed the murder yourself?"

"How dare you say that?!" scolded Jonas.

"Then why were you hiding in your dormitory bedroom?" demanded Phoebe.

"I was only praying to God," lied Jonas, "she was killed by one of the other guys here."

"Oh, now you're going after a different suspect?" barked Ivy.

"I didn't know Ebony killed preps until just now," replied Edward.

"Neither did I," added Keanu.

"Same here," added Nathan.

"So it was you who spied on us?!" snarled Ebony.

"I was only looking for my Bible when I passed by you sluts!" growled Jonas.

"Ivy," asked Phoebe, "can you try putting the pieces of the puzzle together?"

"Give me a moment," requested Ivy.

Ivy spent the next few moments stitching together the evidence and the testimony in her mind.

"I think I have an understanding on how the murder happened," declared Ivy, "after the culprit overheard Ebony and Atlantiana's conversation, he waited for his opportunity to strike and followed Atlantiana to the pool. He grabbed one of the dumbbells in the men's changing room along the way since he couldn't access the women's changing room. Once he reached the pool, he used the dumbbell to kill Atlantiana. After that, he used her identification tablet to access the women's changing room and dragged Atlantiana's corpse inside. He then headed for the library and took one of the extension cords, which he used to hang Atlantiana over the floor. He then used her blood to write the message on the wall, and he even left the dumbbell stained with blood at the crime scene. The culprit finally closed the door to the women's changing room and tossed aside the victim's identification tablet. What do you have to say about that, Jonas Xander Devereaux?!"

Jonas's eyes widened in horror as Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony, Edward, Jenna, Giselle, Sara, Keanu and Nathan glared at him. After a moment of silence, Jonas narrowed his eyes.

"Well, guess what?" spat Jonas, "that filthy slut deserved to die!"

"So you admit it now?" asked Phoebe.

"She refused to marry her rapist when I advised her to," confessed Jonas, "in fact, she deserved to be raped because she kept dressing like a slut!"

"YOU GOT THAT WRONG!" shouted Ivy, "when someone gets raped, it's never their fault, no matter what anyone else says!"

Jonas glared at Ivy in a moment of silence.

"So," asked Loki, "have you reached your verdict?"

"We have," nodded Phoebe, "your honor."

"Then cast your vote," advised Loki.

Upon cue, Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Jenna, Ebony, Giselle, Sara, Keanu and Nathan used the switches to flip through the names until they found Jonas's. They all cast their vote, except for Sara, who hesitated for a minute before she finally cast her vote. They stared at Loki for a few moments, and then…

"Your answer is correct," announced Loki, "the culprit responsible for Atlantiana Rebekah Loren's death…is Jonas Xander Devereaux!"

"Jonas," gasped Giselle, "how could you?"

"We thought you were righteous!" added Jenna.

"She was my best friend, you rotten bastard!" snarled Ebony.

"Atlantiana was not the only rape victim Jonas bullied," mentioned Loki, "before he came into the palace, he bullied another rape victim into marrying her rapist, claiming that his false god chose that man for her, but when she complied to stop Jonas from bullying her, she was subject to further abuse from her rapist with no means to put a stop to it or even stand up to him. That was his shameful secret."

Loki glanced at Ivy.

"As I said before, committing any form of sexual assault can result in severe penalties in Asgard," continued Loki.

Jonas lowered his head and clasped his hands together.

"Oh father thou art in heaven," chanted Jonas, "hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."

"What is he doing?" whispered Ivy.

"He's probably accepting defeat," assumed Phoebe.

While Jonas continued his prayer, Loki stood from his throne.

"The time has come for you to succumb to justice," announced Loki.

Loki raised his scepter into the air, and its gem began to glow, teleporting Jonas out of the courtroom.

"We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," whimpered Sara.

"Follow me," commanded Loki.

Loki led Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Ebony, Jenna, Giselle, Sara, Keanu and Nathan through the door leading to the hallway and they sauntered into the execution grounds, where they could see Jonas crucified to a wooden cross that stood upright.

"I thought Jesus died for our sins," muttered Nathan.

Loki didn't say anything, but with a flick of his hand, he conjured what simulated a thunderstorn that hovered over the cross. In a matter of moments, a bolt of lightning hit the cross and electrocuted Jonas, killing him in the process. Ivy wasn't willing to show sympathy for Jonas after he harassed her in the library yesterday, and now that he committed murder, that destroyed her hopes of ever convincing him to quit the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church. Seeing the misogynistic Christian teenage boy get executed wasn't that traumatizing...maybe because her potential to trust him had been shattered beforehand.

"I can't take this anymore," peeped Sara.

"I'm surprised you didn't faint this time," commented Phoebe.

"Maybe it's because Jonas showed his asshole side to me before the murder," admitted Ivy.

Ivy turned to Loki.

"Can we go, now?" asked Ivy.

"You are all dismissed," nodded Loki, "I'll open the third floor in a few hours."

Upon cue, Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna, Sara, Keanu and Nathan left the execution grounds and headed for the elevator, which lifted them to the foyer. Once they stepped out of the elevator, Ivy began heading for the east hall.

"Where are you going?" asked Giselle.

"I'm going to lie down for a while," answered Ivy, "send Phoebe to let me know when the third floor is open."

"No need," assured Phoebe, "I'll remind myself to notify you."

"Thanks, Phoebe," smiled Ivy.

Ivy wandered into the east hall and arrived at the dormitories. She used her room key to unlock the door to her bedroom before she stepped inside. After closing the door behind her and locking it, she approached the bed and lay down. She began thinking of the incident today, not paying attention to the fact that Loki teleported into her room, until…

"Are you available?" asked Loki.

Ivy snapped her head at Loki.

"You're not here to talk about the murder," said Ivy, "are you?"

"No," answered Loki, "I want to talk to you about the secret you revealed to the other guests this morning."

Ivy felt a chill sent down her spine, remembering the moment when Phoebe warned her that Loki heard her. The God of Mischief sat down next to her on the bed.

"Would you mind telling me more about that story you wrote?" requested Loki.

"I wouldn't mind showing it to you," replied Ivy, "but it's back in my apartment."

"Very well," sighed Loki, "perhaps I'll take you back to Midgard later on and let you find your story."

"That's thoughtful of you," smiled Ivy, "thank you. At least I don't have to worry about Jonas harassing me anymore."

"You're welcome," replied Loki, "would you like me to keep you company?"

"Why?" objected Ivy.

"Would it help you feel a little better if I stay here for a while?" clarified Loki.

Ivy gave Loki a puzzled look in a moment of silence.

"You can join me," nodded Ivy, "but for now, we should keep the sexual stuff off the table, ok?"

Upon cue, Loki climbed onto Ivy's bed and gently pulled her into an embrace. She couldn't help but lean into the touch as he gently stroked her back, even if her mind was screaming at her in an attempt to remind her that Loki abducted her along with her best friend and some of the most loyal members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church and placed them in a murderous death match. Her brain wanted to despise him, but she couldn't. Could she be growing fond of him?


	15. The Stairs to the Third Floor

For a while, Ivy snuggled into Loki's arms, almost on the brink of falling asleep. She wasn't sure how long the God of Mischief has been in her room, but she had a sneaky suspicion that if the remaining Mary Sues and Gary Stus saw her with Loki, they could accuse her of conspiring with him. Ivy snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Loki nuzzling his face against hers.

"I should get going, soon," whispered Loki, "the third floor will be opened shortly."

Loki gently kissed Ivy on her forehead and got out of her bed before teleporting out of her dormitory bedroom. Ivy slowly sat up and stretched her arms, having obtained some well deserved rest. She fastened her fanny pack and stepped out of her dormitory bedroom, taking care to lock the door behind her, before she wandered out of the east hall and into the foyer, where she waited at the bottom of the stairs. Several minutes later, Phoebe entered the foyer from the west hall and approached Ivy.

"Hey, Phoebe!" called Ivy.

"Hey, Ivy," replied Phoebe, "I was going to see if the third floor is open. Would you like to come along?"

"Yeah!" nodded Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe sprinted up the stairs in the foyer and wandered through the hall until they found the staircase leading to the third floor. To their luck, it was open.

"Finally," chirped Ivy, "we can go exploring!"

Ivy and Phoebe began exploring the third floor. They first investigated the lounge, where they found Keanu laying on the couch, ready to take a nap.

"Excuse me, Keanu," called Ivy, "didn't Loki say that sleep is only permitted in the dormitories?"

Groaning in disgust, Keanu sat up.

"I hate it when you bitches ruin my fun!" grumbled Keanu.

"Then what would Loki say to you if he catches you sleeping in the lounge?" asked Phoebe.

"Don't you dare tell Loki on me," threatened Keanu, "or I will punish you!"

"Keanu, you're not the authority here," reminded Phoebe.

"Smartass," grumbled Keanu.

Ivy and Phoebe left the lounge and continued wandering around the third floor until they found the art room. Inside, they could see a door leading to the storage room as well as a few tables used for drawing.

"It's been a while since I've drawn," said Ivy.

"Are you feeling any inspiration right now?" asked Phoebe.

"Not yet," answered Ivy, "but I might later on."

Phoebe glanced at Nathan, who was starting to draw some sort of picture. It was only moments later before Ivy noticed him as well.

"Do you think Nathan and I should enter a drawing contest?" pondered Ivy.

"You'll have to ask him yourself," suggested Phoebe.

Nodding in agreement, Ivy approached Nathan, catching his attention.

"What are you doing here?" asked Nathan.

"I had no idea you were good at drawing," replied Ivy, "so I have a proposal."

"Sure, I'd like to hear about it!" chirped Nathan.

"How about we have a drawing contest at some point?" proposed Ivy.

"Uhh, sure," nodded Nathan, "I'd like to draw with you."

"Great," chirped Ivy, "I'm looking forward to have fun with you! See you later!"

Ivy followed Phoebe out of the art room and through the hallway until they found the recreation room, where Giselle was investigating it.

"Hey, Giselle," called Ivy, "are you enjoying yourself?"

Giselle turned her head at Ivy and Phoebe.

"There are some great games you can play here," chirped Giselle, "such as Chess, Othello, pool billiards, darts, Nine Men's Morris and Mancala."

"Now I'm starting to like living here," commented Ivy.

"You're kidding, right?" stuttered Phoebe.

"We have access to board games now, don't we?" clarified Ivy, "maybe I could challenge Loki to play chess with me at some point."

Little did Ivy know, Loki overheard the conversation and teleported into the recreation room.

"I am most flattered, my lady," said Loki.

Startled, Giselle yelped and snapped her head at Loki.

"What are you doing here?!" demanded Giselle.

"I couldn't help but step in to join the conversation," smirked Loki.

"So you actually heard what I said?" warbled Ivy.

"You saw right through me," admitted Loki, "if you do wish to play one of the games in this room, you can just let me know."

"Sure, I'll take care to notify you," Ivy nodded nervously.

Satisfied, Loki stepped out of the recreation room.

"Ok," announced Ivy, "we're going to continue exploring. Would you like to come along?"

"No thanks," answered Giselle, "I was going to consider finding Ebony or Jenna and ask them to play a board game with me."

"Good luck," assured Phoebe.

Ivy and Phoebe stepped out of the recreation room and wandered through the third floor until they stepped into a peculiar room that held some sort of machine. Phoebe approached the machine and began inspecting it.

"Strange," commented Phoebe, "it's not a time machine."

"Are we in some sort of laboratory?" asked Ivy.

"I don't think so," sighed Phoebe.

Phoebe continued to inspect the machine and even checked the screens next to it.

"I think I understand what this is," said Phoebe, "it's probably a shield generator designed to protect the palace from danger."

"Do you think the shield generator is responsible for creating the barrier that's keeping us inside?" asked Ivy.

"I think so," nodded Phoebe, "but I don't think Loki would take too kindly if we decided to shut it off. So, we should probably leave it alone."

Nodding in agreement, Ivy and Phoebe left the room holding the shield generator.

"I guess that's it for our investigating," declared Phoebe.

"How about we ask Giselle if we could play pool in the recreation room?" suggested Ivy.

"You seem to be in a gaming mood," commented Phoebe.

"Yeah," admitted Ivy, "because we have a recreation room."

Nodding in agreement, Phoebe followed Ivy back to the recreation room where they proposed a game of pool to Giselle, in which case she agreed to join.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha and Clint stood outside on the deck of the helicarrier as Director Fury and Maria Hill stepped out of the Quinjet, with Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis following him.

"We were able to reach Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis before the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church did," explained Maria.

"Fortunately," added Nick, "they didn't join the organization."

"Besides," replied Jane, "we're more into science than religion."

"Welcome aboard," smiled Tony.

Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis stepped into the helicarrier and headed for the conference room.

"Would you be willing to help us rescue Dr. Selvig since Thor is not here?" asked Jane.

"Why is that?" pondered Natasha.

"A month after Thor left," explained Darcy, "a group of religious freaks started sending us these brochures and persuaded us to join their organization."

Darcy pulled out the brochures from her bag and showed them to the Avengers.

"What's this?" pondered Tony, "fundamentalist propaganda?"

"Christian fundamentalist propaganda at that," added Bruce.

"They kept bothering us for a couple of weeks," continued Jane, "and then one day, they came to our house and told Dr. Selvig that he has been chosen by God to create a machine to power some sort of relic that they call the Relic of God. He refused at first, but then they threatened to kill us if he didn't comply. They essentially abducted him in the end."

Jane lowered her head in sadness, worried that Dr. Selvig could be killed.

"I heard that the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church were religious terrorists," mentioned Steve, "but I'm wondering what they meant by Relic of God."

"We suspect that they found the Tesseract before we did," assumed Nick.

"If they really are Christian," said Steve, "then shouldn't they be focusing on helping the poor and treating everyone with respect regardless of differences?"

"Looks like Capsicle has a good point," commented Tony.

"Natasha and I interviewed one of the members and he told us that the poor are nothing but lazy," replied Clint.

"That's just insulting," commented Darcy.

"We also looked into the incident at Stuttgart, Germany," continued Natasha, "and found something disturbing."

Natasha pulled out a screen pad that began playing a video of Sara attacking a middle-aged man in the museum in Stuttgart and using an eyeball extractor to rip out his eyeball.

"Wait a minute," paused Bruce, "isn't that one of the Asgardian's abductees?"

"Yeah," nodded Clint, "I'm starting to lose sympathy for her now."

"Wait," interrupted Jane, "did you say that this Sara was abducted by an Asgardian?"

"Along with Ivy Spade, Phoebe Collins and a dozen more members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," nodded Nick.

Nick Fury pulled out the missing reports, allowing Jane to read them.

"Thor would never kidnap humans," said Jane, "I think Loki is probably behind the abductions."

"Loki?" paused Clint.

"Thor told me about him," clarified Jane.

"I guess that's all the more reason to find Loki and get some answers out of him," commented Tony.

"We should also focus on finding the headquarters to the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," reminded Maria.

"That's easier said than done," replied Natasha, "they never tell anyone about the location of their headquarters, and even the members refuse to give away the address."

"Maybe Loki knows where the headquarters is," assumed Tony, "but there's a chance that I could be wrong on that."


	16. A Game of Chess

A couple days later, Jenna was tending to her garden while Sara was doing the dishes. Ebony stayed in her dormitory bedroom to listen to her favorite music alone while Phoebe was in the library. At the moment, Ivy headed for the recreation room to wait for Loki, and came across Giselle, who was holding a digital camera.

"Hey, Giselle," chirped Ivy, "I didn't know you had a digital camera."

"I actually found it in the storage room in the shield generator," corrected Giselle, "I'm not sure who the owner is. So what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for Loki," answered Ivy.

"Because you challenged him to play a game here?" clarified Giselle.

Ivy nodded.

"I see," replied Giselle, "how about we have a girls' night at the bathhouse tonight?"

"You mean you want us to take a bath together?" paused Ivy.

"Yeah, but we're bringing along Phoebe, Ebony, Jenna and Sara," nodded Giselle.

"Ok then," chirped Ivy, "I accept your invitation."

"I'll see you later," sang Giselle.

Giselle stepped out of the recreation room, prompting Ivy to wait while sitting in a chair with anticipation. After only a few minutes, Loki stepped into the room.

"About time you showed up," sighed Ivy, "do you still remember the challenge I gave you?"

"Of course, my lady," nodded Loki, "why would I forget?"

Ivy stood to her feet and searched the room for a chess set. She pulled it out and placed it onto the small table. She and Loki sat down across from each other as they set up the chess pieces. This moment reminded Ivy of that one time when she went to a friend's house in middle school to play chess, and he taught her the essentials of the game. Over time, she remembered that she got better at it to the point where it became her favorite board game.

Since Ivy had the white pieces straight in front of her and the black pieces in front of Loki, Ivy made her first move. As Loki and Ivy took turns moving the chess pieces, they both evaluated their strategies in an attempt to beat one another. During the game, Loki moved his knight piece and took one of Ivy's bishop pieces. But of course, she got back at him by moving her rook piece and took one of his pawns. Loki moved his rook to a position where he checked her. To counter this, she moved her king piece out of the way. She attempted to move her pawns closer to the opposite side, only to have Loki use his pieces to pluck out her pawns, putting her at a disadvantage. The game eventually ended when Loki moved his bishop piece and took her queen piece, and at the same time, checkmating her king.

"Crud," muttered Ivy.

"How long have you been playing this game?" smirked Loki.

"Since middle school," admitted Ivy, resting her head on the small table.

Chuckling, Loki placed his hand on Ivy's shoulder.

"It was still a good game," assured Loki, "I thank you for inviting me."

Ivy raised her head and stared into Loki's eyes.

"I won't lose to you next time," warned Ivy, "you'd better believe it!"

"I'll take your word for it," smirked Loki, "I'll see you later."

Loki stood from his feet and left the recreation room while Ivy put away the chess set. After that, she left the recreation room and headed for the library, where she joined up with Phoebe and they read some books together.

* * *

That night, after dinner, Giselle, Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony, Jenna and Sara gathered at the dressing room leading to the bathhouse. They all took their clothes off...except for Sara.

"Aren't you going to join us, Sara?" asked Phoebe.

"No," spat Sara, "I don't want you girls to see my body!"

"Why not?" pondered Ivy.

"Because we'll get raped into being lesbians!" claimed Sara, "I don't wanna be a lesbian! I'm a straight Christian!"

"Well," admitted Phoebe, "I am a lesbian, but I don't turn other girls into lesbians by raping them. That's just stupid."

Sara took a few steps away from Phoebe while glaring at her.

"Stay away, you evil lesbian!" shrieked Sara.

Ivy, Phoebe, Jenna, Ebony and Giselle instantly burst into laughter.

"Come on, Sara," beckoned Ebony, "there's nothing wrong with seeing another girl's naked body."

"But we're not supposed to bathe together," whined Sara, "because God says that it'll put lesbian thoughts into the minds of straight Christian girls."

"I may be straight," replied Ivy, "but I'm atheist."

"You didn't have premarital sex, did you, Ivy?" interrogated Sara.

"Sara," snapped Ivy, "that's none of your business!"

"Besides," assured Phoebe, "there's nothing to worry about. I'll keep my hands to myself."

Groaning in disgust, Sara reluctantly took her clothes off, but she kept covering her privates with her arms and hands.

"You'd better," warned Sara, "because if you try to rape me, I will kill you!"

"But then Loki would call for a palace trial if that happened," reminded Jenna, "wouldn't he?"

"And how would Sara be able to get away with the crime if the rest of us were witnesses?" added Ebony.

Sara glared at Ebony in a moment of silence. Eventually, the girls stepped into the bathhouse and washed themselves on the sidelines before stepping into the tub. They were having a good time relaxing in the hot water, even if Sara sat in the far corner of the tub to distance herself from the other girls. Little did they know, Keanu snuck into the dressing room, grabbed the digital camera from Giselle's locker and peeked his head into the bathhouse. He then used the camera to take pictures of the girls, making sure that the camera didn't make a sound so he wouldn't get caught. Once he gathered enough pictures, he snuck out of the bathhouse, taking the camera with him.

"This is perfect," Keanu whispered to himself, "now all I have to do is get one of them to have sex with me. I'm starting to get tired of masturbating in my room without even a single pinup!"

It was only an hour later before Ivy, Phoebe, Giselle, Jenna, Ebony and Sara stepped out of the tub and dried themselves off.

"See," cooed Ebony, "was that so bad, Sara?"

"At least no one tried to rape me," sighed Sara.

"That's because not all lesbians think that way," explained Phoebe.

The girls headed for the lockers to grab their clothes and put them back on. Giselle looked into her locker, and then…

"Oh, no," gasped Giselle, "someone took my camera!"

"What?!" exclaimed Ivy.

"It couldn't have been one of us," replied Jenna.

"I'll bet one of the boys snuck in here and spied on us!" growled Ebony, "those perverted pieces of shit!"

"Not only that," added Phoebe, "the creep also stole the camera."

"Ok then, here's the plan," announced Ivy, "tomorrow, we find the camera and the creep while I file a complaint with Loki."

"Why would you want to go to Loki for advice?" objected Sara, "he kidnapped us, didn't he?"

"He placed a rule that any form of sexual assault is forbidden," explained Ivy, "I guess someone spying on us while we're naked counts."

"You don't need to file a complaint with him," assured Giselle.

"Why not?" paused Ivy.

"We should bring this creep to justice ourselves," declared Giselle.

After putting her clothes on, Giselle quickly left the dressing room.

"She sounded pretty upset," commented Ebony.

"Well," replied Ivy, "she did find that camera on the third floor and was holding onto it. I'm going to get some sleep. See you in the morning."

Ivy stepped out of the dressing room to the bathhouse and walked down the stairs to the foyer before making a beeline toward the east hall to the dormitories.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nathan allowed Keanu into his bedroom after hearing the doorbell ring.

"Is there something you want, sir?" asked Nathan.

"Guess what?" chirped Keanu, "I found some pictures of some naked ladies. You wanna see?"

"Uh, sure," nodded Nathan.

Keanu pulled out the digital camera and showed Nathan the pictures of the naked girls.

"Oohh," cooed Nathan, "this is so exciting, I can barely contain myself!"

"Neither can I, dude," replied Keanu.

Nathan and Keanu unzipped their pants and started to jerk off to the pictures, blissfully unaware that they somehow enraged some of the girls in the palace.


	17. Angry Giselle

_Ivy found herself on the beach while gazing out into the ocean. She wasn't sure how she got here, but she enjoyed the ocean breeze brushing past her short brown hair. She scanned the area, only to find that she was the only one at the beach, so she decided to do some exploring. On the other side of the beach was a magnificent garden and beyond that, a glass beach house stood behind the garden. Ivy figured that whoever lived there must be upper class, so she figured that she could stop by to visit and maybe have a good meal. She left the beach and wandered through the garden until she reached the glass beach house. She reached out to knock on the door, only to find that it wasn't there. Strange._

_Ivy shrugged it off and stepped inside, taking note of the beautiful green and golden carpet on the wooden floor and a nice canopy bed. Wait a minute, that's the same canopy bed she saw in Loki's bedroom, which meant…_

_"I was expecting you, my lady," said the familiar British voice._

_Startled, Ivy instantly spun around to find the source of the voice, only to find herself just an inch from Loki in front of her._

_"Loki," scolded Ivy, "you scared the crap out of me!"_

_"My apologies," replied Loki, "perhaps I can make up for it on the bed?"_

_Ivy stared at the bed in a moment of silence before staring back at Loki._

_"Are you thinking exactly what I'm thinking?" asked Ivy._

_"Of course, my lady," confessed Loki, "this infatuation I have for you...you're so desirable."_

_Loki guided Ivy to the canopy bed and gently laid her down. He leaned closer to her face, prompting her to pull him into a kiss. While they deepened their kiss, Loki unfastened the buttons of Ivy's dress shirt, his tongue tangling with hers and eliciting moans out of her. She suspected that since Loki is the son of Odin, he could very well be a prince; a fabulous prince from outer space at that. As Ivy started massaging his neck with her hands, he ran his hands up her sides and then back down, eliciting yet another moan from her, so he broke off the kiss._

_"So you like that?" smirked Loki._

_Ivy didn't say anything, but she nodded. Loki withdrew his hands and he removed his shirt, allowing Ivy to fondle with his chest. She quickly noticed that she wasn't wearing pants, yet she was still in her underwear, but she quickly brushed it off and leaned her head closer to his shoulder and nipped at his skin._

_"Naughty mortal," purred Loki._

_Loki reached his hand underneath Ivy's panties and gently fondled with her clit, causing her to gasp in surprise as heat began building up in her core. She arched her back and bucked up her hips against his hand, trying to persuade the trickster god to keep going further. Moments later, Loki obliged and slipped his fingers into her nether regions, eliciting a loud cry out of Ivy._

_"Loki, please," begged Ivy._

_"You need to learn to be patient," whispered Loki._

_Loki started thrusting his fingers inside Ivy, prompting her to wrap her arms around him and bury her face into his shoulder. She knew she watched some pornographic videos, so she had a concept of what she was going through, although she was reluctant to admit such a secret to the Norse trickster god. With each thrust, pressure built up in her core, and she wanted nothing more than to climax. Just as she was getting close, Loki withdrew his fingers, removed her panties and lowered his pants. Ivy soon felt his thick length against her nether regions, so she clung onto him and closed her eyes as she braced herself for the oncoming penetration._

* * *

But when Ivy slowly opened her eyes, she found herself in her dormitory bedroom and Loki wasn't in here. She groaned in disappointment as she realized it was a dream.

"Damn it," grumbled Ivy, "I was just getting to the good part."

Ivy got out of her bed and retrieved her notebook and pencil from her desk before writing down the details of her dream from last night. Part of her wanted to tell Loki about the dream, but the other part of herself wanted to keep the dream a secret, even though she wrote it down. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts upon remembering that she and the other girls have been spied on while they were bathing and Giselle lost her camera. She changed out of her pajamas and after putting on her bra, she slipped on her white short-sleeved dress shirt, her green vest, her pale blue jeans, a pair of socks and sneakers. She then fastened her fanny pack after gathering her identification tablet and room key. She stepped out of her dormitory bedroom and locked the door behind her before heading to the dining hall, where she joined the other guests for breakfast. However, she noticed that Giselle and Keanu weren't in the dining hall for some reason, so Ivy quickly finished her breakfast and left the dining hall to search for both of them. Ivy entered the second floor hall and found Giselle catching up with Keanu.

"Get back here, you pervert!" shouted Giselle.

Keanu eventually stopped in his tracks and turned his head at Giselle.

"Ok," sighed Keanu, "what do you want?"

"Where is my camera?" demanded Giselle.

Keanu pulled out the digital camera and flashed it at Giselle.

"You mean this camera?" smirked Keanu.

"So you have been spying on us!" thundered Giselle, "what were you thinking?!"

"Why not?" objected Keanu, "it has almost been two weeks I've gone without sex, and I need some!"

"Hand over the camera, now!" demanded Giselle.

"Only if you rope another girl to have sex with me," replied Keanu, "in fact, Nathan also wants a lady to satisfy his gigglestick."

"Oh, come on," Ivy grumbled softly as she facepalmed at the stupid euphemism.

"In fact," continued Keanu, smirking, "I showed him the pictures I took."

Snarling, Giselle smacked Keanu in the face hard, forcing him to drop the camera. The blue-haired lady then seized her chance and snatched the digital camera and started deleting the pictures of the naked girls.

"Hey," snapped Keanu, "don't you take away my precious pictures!"

Keanu reached out to grab Giselle, but Ivy sprinted toward both of them, standing in between both of them and she flung out her arms in a protective stance.

"That's enough!" shouted Ivy, "now don't make me bring Loki into this matter!"

"So you think you're special because you're Loki's star detective?" scoffed Keanu, "maybe if I turn you into a slut whether you want to or not, he won't want you anymore."

"Do that and you will be severely punished for your perverse crimes!" interrupted the familiar British voice.

Ivy, Giselle and Keanu snapped their heads at Loki, who glared at Keanu as he folded his arms.

"Did something happen?" asked Loki.

"Keanu stole Giselle's camera and used it to take pictures of us while we were bathing," explained Ivy.

"Oh, come on!" complained Keanu, "if you didn't want me to do that, then wouldn't you just give us some porn to look at?"

"I thought the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church forbade porn," objected Giselle.

"Asgard may be open with sexuality," replied Loki, "but we don't make footage or images of our mating habits. That is only for writings, and mating is preserved for privacy."

Giselle stormed off after she finished deleting the pictures. Keanu stomped down the stairs to the foyer in defeat, leaving Ivy and Loki behind.

"I guess I should thank you for intervening," said Ivy, "I was going to defend myself, though."

"I do not wish for you to be traumatized by any degrading ordeal," explained Loki.

Smiling in relief, Ivy embraced herself to Loki.

"That's so thoughtful of you," smiled Ivy.

Loki nodded in agreement and he returned the embrace, even if he personally wasn't ready to admit his feelings for Ivy yet…hold on, did he really care about her? He shook his head, erasing the silly thought. After a few moments, Loki released his embrace.

"I'll let you carry on your business," said Loki.

"Ok," nodded Ivy, "I'll see you later!"

Ivy sprinted through the hallway and stepped into the library, picking out a book and she started reading for a couple of hours until Nathan stepped in.

"Hey, Ivy," called Nathan, "are you ready to participate in the drawing contest? Because I am."

Upon hearing Nathan's voice, Ivy closed the book and placed it back onto the shelf before walking with Nathan out of the library and up the stairs to the art room, where they gathered pieces of paper, some pencils and erasers.

"Ok," announced Ivy, "here are the rules for this contest, pick something simple to draw and don't draw anything explicit. Whoever can draw three pictures first wins."

"I like the idea already," commented Nathan, "can we draw fictional characters?"

"Sure," nodded Ivy.

"Great!" chirped Nathan.

"Ok," declared Ivy, "go!"

Nathan and Ivy started the drawing contest. Nathan started off with Twilight Sparkle and Ivy started off with a tree. Next, Ivy drew a picture of a vase full of flowers while Nathan drew a picture of Tifa Lockheart. Finally, while Nathan started drawing Megatron, Ivy drew a picture of Loki holding his scepter, using her memories of him as reference. Eventually, Ivy finished her three drawings.

"Ok," announced Ivy, "I finished!"

"Oh, damn it," grumbled Nathan, "I was hoping to win!"

"Hey, don't sweat it," assured Ivy, "don't you think it would be fun to draw with someone?"

"I guess you're right," chuckled Nathan, "I'll finish up my drawing here."

"Ok," chirped Ivy, "see you later!"

Ivy grabbed her picture of Loki and left the art room. She returned to her dormitory bedroom where she used a pen from her desk to finish the drawing. She wondered if she should show it to Loki at some point, not sure how he would react.


	18. As Mad as Megatron

The following morning, Ivy woke up at six forty five and stepped into the dining hall for breakfast as she usually did. However, it seemed that Phoebe, Jenna, Ebony and Sara were the only guests in the dining hall having breakfast. After Ivy served herself, she began eating.

"Say," asked Ivy, "where did Giselle go?"

"She's probably still asleep," assumed Jenna, "we should save the leftovers for when they arrive."

After they finished breakfast, Ivy, Phoebe, Jenna, Ebony and Sara waited in the dining hall for an hour, yet…

"They still haven't shown up," sighed Phoebe, "something's wrong."

"I know Giselle and Edward always show up for breakfast in the morning," mentioned Sara.

"Nathan and Keanu were never late for breakfast, either," added Ivy, "maybe it has something to do with that incident at the bathhouse."

"How about we go searching for them?" suggested Ebony.

"Right," nodded Sara.

Sara and Jenna took a few minutes to store the leftovers before rejoining Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony in the dining hall. They left the dining hall, split up and began searching the palace for the other missing guests. Ivy searched the infirmary, but couldn't find anyone, so she stepped out of the infirmary to continue the search. Suddenly…

"Someone, come over here!" shouted Sara.

Ivy sprinted to the foyer and ascended the stairs until she reached the third floor. There, she saw Sara frozen in fear.

"Ivy," stammered Sara.

"What happened?" asked Ivy.

"We have a problem," explained Sara, her voice trembling with fear, "when I opened the door to the rec room, I saw something horrible! I should go tell the others! You go on ahead, Ivy."

Sara sprinted down the stairs, compelling Ivy scurry into the recreation room, where she saw Giselle staggering to her feet as if she was in pain.

"Giselle," called Ivy, "are you ok?"

Giselle focused her eyes on Ivy.

"I was…I was attacked," mumbled Giselle.

"By who?" asked Ivy.

"By a mysterious madman," answered Giselle, "everything about the madman was a mystery, so I can't help but call him mysterious. He attacked me with that hammer over there."

Giselle pointed at a hammer laying on the floor, and its head seemed to be quite small. Ivy knelt down and carefully examined it, only to notice that it was labeled Mega Hammer #1 and it had an unusual design.

"I barely dodged the hammer," continued Giselle, "but when I did, I fell down. I thought I was athletic enough for this. After all, I was cheer captain."

Just then, Sara and Ebony ran into the recreation room, catching Ivy and Giselle's attention.

"Ivy," called Sara, "I brought Ebony!"

"Hey, girl," said Ebony, "what happened?"

"Giselle said that she was attacked by some sort of madman," explained Ivy.

"Ok then," requested Ebony, "tell me more about this madman."

"It happened this morning," answered Giselle, "I woke up at six thirty, while it was still nighttime, and I decided to take a walk around the palace's first floor. That was my mistake. During the walk, I saw the madman. His face was covered, and he was suspicious at a glance. Because of that, I quietly followed him. He entered the rec room, and I peered through the crack in the door. But suddenly, when he spotted me, he decided to attack me."

"Ouch," commented Ebony.

"The attack occurred a little after seven a.m.," clarified Giselle, "and I lost consciousness."

"That must've happened while we were in the dining hall an hour ago," said Ivy.

"I guess I must've been unconscious for an hour," shrugged Giselle.

Sara carefully examined Giselle.

"On the bright side," smiled Sara, "it's only a few bruises."

"Only because I begged for mercy," replied Giselle.

"You didn't discard your pride, did you?" asked Ebony.

"I will adapt any strategy to survive," nodded Giselle, "but we need to search for the madman. If we don't, something bad will happen."

"What do you mean?" demanded Ivy.

"When I peeked into the rec room," explained Giselle, "there was another person with the madman…it was Nathan. After he attacked me, he dragged Nathan off."

"He was kidnapped?!" exclaimed Ebony.

"Did anything stand out about the madman?" clamored Sara.

"I secretly photographed the madman," answered Giselle, "so I'll just show it to you."

Giselle pulled out her digital camera and showed it to Ivy, Ebony and Sara, which appeared to be of Nathan being held hostage by…

"Wait a minute," paused Ivy, "isn't that Megatron?"

"You know the madman?!" gasped Sara.

"Actually," corrected Ivy, "Nathan and I held a drawing contest yesterday and he drew a picture of Megatron. I'm guessing the madman designed a suit based on Megatron and put it on so no one would recognize him."

"I took the photo when I was attacked," said Giselle.

"So an hour ago?" clarified Sara.

Giselle nodded.

"Then we need to hurry," suggested Ivy.

"I think he went to the second floor since he turned left," replied Giselle.

"We need to warn Phoebe," nodded Ebony.

Ivy, Ebony, Giselle and Sara left the recreation room and headed for the stairs, meeting Jenna and Phoebe along the way. They informed the two girls about what happened before they began searching the second floor. When they stepped into the library, they saw Nathan lying on the floor with another hammer laying next to him, and there was a little bit of blood on his head. Sara was about to rush to his side when he slowly staggered to his feet, groaning in pain.

"Oh, thank the lord of light," Giselle sighed in relief, "he's alive!"

"Yeah," replied Ebony, "but he seems to be hurt."

Nathan gently touched where the blood was supposedly seeping out of.

"Did Megatron get you?" asked Ivy.

"Yeah," nodded Nathan, pointing at the hammer, "he used that hammer over there. I'm not a gong..."

Phoebe inspected the hammer on the floor, which was labeled Mega Hammer #2 and its head was a little bigger than Mega Hammer #1.

"I still don't understand how Megatron managed to get into the palace," pondered Giselle, "he doesn't have the means of transportation."

Little did they know, Loki wandered in, until…

"It should be impossible," explained Loki, "because the shield protecting the palace prevents all kinds of intruders."

Everyone focused their eyes on Loki.

"Loki?!" warbled Jenna.

"Follow me to the infirmary," instructed Loki.

Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna, Sara and Nathan couldn't argue with Loki, so they followed him to the first floor and then into the infirmary. Nathan sat down on one of the beds as Loki inspected him for the wound, and when he found it, he used his magic to heal the injury. Once he finished healing, Loki cleaned off the blood.

"Thank you," mumbled Nathan, "I greatly appreciate it. I'm feeling light-headed, though."

"Then I suggest you get some rest," advised Loki.

Loki stepped out of the infirmary as Nathan lied down onto the bed.

"I guess we should continue our search for the madman," suggested Ebony.

"Yeah," agreed Sara, "if we don't hurry, someone else will get hurt!"

"Then, should someone stay behind with Nathan?" asked Phoebe.

"No, I'll be fine," assured Nathan, "you girls go on ahead."

Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna and Sara left the infirmary and entered the foyer, trying to figure out whether they should search together when suddenly…

"I saw a shadow," panicked Giselle, "I saw it moving at the top of the stairs!"

"Come on," beckoned Ebony, "let's go get this monster!"

The girls sprinted up the stairs and into the second floor.

"Ok, let's split up and try to corner him," announced Giselle.

"Then call us if you found anything," advised Jenna.

Giselle sprinted up the stairs to the third floor while the other girls split up and began searching the second floor, hoping to find the madman. Ivy headed into the library to begin her search, but after a few moments, she found nothing, so she stepped back out into the hallway.

"Dohyaaa!" Giselle shouted from a distance.

Ivy sprinted up to the third floor and met up with Giselle. It was only seconds later before Phoebe, Jenna, Ebony and Sara arrived at the top of the stairs.

"What happened?!" clamored Sara.

"That was a strange cry coming out of you," commented Jenna.

"I saw the costumed madman," explained Giselle, "he ran off when I shouted. He turned the corner to the end of the hall."

"Ok," declared Ivy, "let's go!"

Before the girls could make a run for it, they suddenly heard screaming coming from the first floor.

"What?!" exclaimed Ivy.

"Oh no!" panicked Sara, "Nathan's in danger!"

"What about the madman?!" demanded Phoebe.

"We should split into two groups," suggested Giselle, "Ivy, Sara and I will head for the infirmary."

"So that means we get to capture the madman," clarified Ebony.

"Be careful," advised Jenna.

Ivy, Giselle and Sara sprinted down the stairs while Ebony, Phoebe and Jenna scurried down the hall. Ivy led Giselle and Sara into the infirmary, only to find Nathan lying on the floor with blood covering his head and covering his glasses. Next to him was the Mega Hammer #3, since its head was bigger than the other Mega Hammers.

"Oh no!" gasped Sara.

"I never would have guessed...that Nathan...would be killed," commented Giselle.

Well, Nathan wasn't responding at all.

"But," objected Sara, "he can't be dead!"

Moments later, they heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"A corpse has just been discovered," announced Loki over the intercom, "it is time that our star detectives investigate the crime before the palace trial."

"That was..." stammered Sara.

"A Corpse Discovery Announcement," interrupted Giselle, "that means one of us killed Nathan. It's no doubt that the person disguised as Megatron killed him."

"But didn't we see the madman on the third floor?" objected Ivy.

"Just tell the others," advised Giselle.

"I can't move," stuttered Sara.

"I guess I'll go by myself," sighed Ivy.

Nodding in agreement, Ivy scurried out of the infirmary and into the foyer. She sprinted up the stairs until she reached the third floor, and then she skittered down the hall until she reached the shield generator. Inside the storage room, Ivy saw Keanu's corpse lying on the ground, with his head appearing to have been smashed and he was bleeding. Phoebe, Jenna and Ebony glanced at Ivy the instant she burst in.

"Did you hear the Corpse Discovery Announcement?" asked Jenna.

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "Nathan is also dead in the infirmary. Does that mean the announcement was for both murders?"

"I doubt it," replied Phoebe.

Ivy glanced at the hammer of the other side of the room, which had been labeled Mega Hammer #4.

"If Nathan was dead, too," suggested Phoebe, "we should check it out. I'll keep searching for the madman."

"Be careful, Phoebe," advised Ivy.

Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony and Jenna left the storage room of the shield generator and raced to the second floor. Along the way, Phoebe went in a different direction while Ivy, Ebony and Jenna headed for the stairs to the first floor, only to be intercepted by Giselle.

"There's trouble," said Giselle, "Nathan's corpse is gone."

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Jenna.

"We should head to the infirmary," advised Ebony, "quickly!"

Ivy, Ebony, Jenna and Giselle raced to the first floor and stepped into the infirmary, only to find that Nathan disappeared while Sara stood frozen in fear.

"Sara?" paused Jenna.

"Giselle and I...went to the bathroom real quick," stammered Sara, "we were only out for about a minute, and when we got back..."

"The culprit most likely carried the body away," assumed Giselle, "it's like...he's playing games with us; enjoying watching us run around while confused and afraid. If we don't do something, we'll all be killed...just like them."

"That has to be unnatural," commented Ebony, "out of two successive murders, one corpse vanished without a trace."

"Keanu was also killed on the third floor," mentioned Jenna.

"Oh no!" gasped Sara, "Keanu, too?"

"Phoebe is searching for the madman as we speak," said Ivy, "would you like us to show you Keanu's body?"

"I don't know if I can handle it," nodded Sara, "but I'll go along."

"We should find Nathan's corpse while we're at it," added Ebony.

Ivy, Ebony, Giselle, Jenna and Sara left the infirmary and climbed the stairs in the foyer to the third floor. But when they reached the storage room of the shield generator, Keanu's corpse was gone!


	19. A Stressful Investigation

Ivy, Jenna, Ebony, Giselle and Sara had no choice but to split up and search the palace for the missing corpses, with Giselle volunteering to search the third floor. Ivy searched the ballroom, but she couldn't find any signs of the corpses. She raced to the foyer and up the stairs to the third floor, only to meet up with Giselle.

"I found the bodies," reported Giselle, "they're in the art storage room."

"Great!" chirped Ivy, "could you do me a favor and notify the others?"

"Yes," nodded Giselle.

Ivy headed for the art room, only to notice some white fur leading a trail to the storage room.

"Strange," commented Ivy.

Ivy picked up some of the fur and stashed it into her fanny pack for later. Just then, Sara, Giselle, Jenna and Ebony arrived at the art room, prompting Ivy to open the door to the storage room, and they laid their eyes on Nathan and Keanu's corpses. Only this time, Nathan's skull appeared to have been crushed sideways. Before anyone could let out a scream, they heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"A corpse has just been discovered," announced Loki over the intercom, "it is time that our star detectives investigate the crime before the palace trial."

Ivy checked her identification tablet and noticed that the third murder file has just been loaded into it. Sara knelt down and began inspecting Nathan's wound. She noticed that he was barely alive, but…

"It...was a...wolf," croaked Nathan, "it was...a wolf..."

Once Nathan went limp, Ivy remembered the moment when Giselle transformed into a wolf and attacked Loki on the night they were brought to the palace. Ivy glared at the blue-haired girl for only a moment before letting out a sigh.

"Ok guys," announced Ivy, "we'd better find enough evidence before the trial."

After noticing that there was some white fur surrounding Nathan's corpse, Ivy noticed that there were missing wooden hammers on the rack along the wall. She suspected that they must've been used to create the Mega Hammers, so she jotted the note down. She then took note that Keanu was laying on a vinyl sheet, and she even noticed that there was a trolley. When she inspected the trolley, she noticed blood on the wheels. She suspected that someone used the trolley and the vinyl sheet to transport the corpse so blood wouldn't be left behind. She then examined Nathan, only to notice that his glasses were clean. Strange, when she saw him lying in the infirmary, his glasses were coated with blood, so she jotted down the note. She even took notice of bite marks on Nathan's head, suggesting that his skull was crushed by powerful jaws. Ivy then inspected the remaining wooden hammers, only to find that none of them were wet with water. While wondering how the culprit moved Nathan to the art storage room, considering that he was chubby, Ivy inspected his body, only to find a piece of balled up paper in his pocket, so she pulled it out, unwrinkled it and carefully read it:

_"Please meet me at the storage room of the shield generator at 6:00 a.m., I found a secret passage to the weapons storage room that we can use to destroy the shield generator."_

Ivy stashed the note into her fanny pack to keep for later, and then she approached Keanu's corpse, only to notice a piece of paper held in his fist. She pulled it out and noticed that it fit the note she found in Nathan's pocket. Ivy then examined Keanu's broken wristwatch, and noted that the hands stopped just after 6:00.

"If that's the case," whispered Ivy, "then maybe Keanu's death took place before Nathan's did."

Noticing that everyone else already left the room, Ivy left the art storage room and headed for the storage room of the shield generator. She took notice that there was one missing vinyl sheet and the trolley was gone, since she last saw them when she discovered Keanu's corpse. She even took notice of the tire tracks extending from the puddle of blood, so she jotted that down. Ivy searched the storage room, only to find that there was no secret passage, which meant that the note was a lie, so she left the shield generator and skittered down the stairs into the foyer before heading into the infirmary. She took note of the stored blood in the refrigerator used for transfusions, and noted that the Mega Hammers were left untouched. She then noticed a piece of cloth coated in blood in the trash bin, so she pulled it out, only to realize that it was a glasses cloth with an image of Twilight Sparkle on it.

"That still does not explain how the culprit was able to move the corpse in just one minute," Ivy said to herself.

Just then, Phoebe entered the infirmary.

"Hey, Phoebe," sang Ivy, "did you find the madman yet?"

"I was going to tell you about that," answered Phoebe, "but Jenna told me that she found something in Edward's dormitory bedroom."

"I just realized," mused Ivy, "we still haven't seen him."

Ivy followed Phoebe into the east hall and into the dormitories, where they stepped into Edward's bedroom. There, they found a couple boxes containing a blueprint of some sort and sheets of plastic, plasterboard and some cardboard.

"Could this have been used to create the Megatron suit?" asked Ivy.

"Even if Edward was an accomplice," replied Phoebe, "he would still have nothing to gain. We should head to the pool."

After Ivy stashed the blueprint into her fanny pack, she and Phoebe left the bedroom and headed for the foyer. They raced up the stairs and meandered toward the pool, where Giselle, Sara, Ebony and Jenna were gathering around a closet at the other side of the pool. When Ivy and Phoebe met up with the others, Phoebe opened the door and the Megatron suit collapsed to the ground. Seconds later, it slowly staggered to its feet.

"Ugh," it groaned, "where am I? I feel like I was hit by a train..."

"That voice," gasped Sara, "it's Edward!"

"So Edward is the culprit," commented Giselle.

"Was I rebuilt in my sleep?!" exclaimed Edward.

"He was asleep," explained Ebony, "so I kicked him until he woke up."

"You didn't have to do that!" snapped Edward.

"So why are you dressed up like that?" asked Phoebe.

"I honestly don't know," admitted Edward.

"Can't you take it off?" inquired Jenna.

Edward attempted to reach backward, but…

"I can't take it off!" wailed Edward, "why can't I take it off?!"

"Why don't you refrain from building things that you can't take off?" mocked Giselle.

"I didn't build this thing!" protested Edward.

"Have you even heard of Megatron?" asked Ivy.

"Well, no," answered Edward.

Ivy went behind Edward and noticed a clasp on the back. She undid the clasp and separated the pieces, freeing Edward from the suit.

"Finally," sighed Edward, "I can move freely!"

"I'm surprised the suit fitted Edward just perfectly," commented Sara.

"No one else could possibly fit in this costume," added Giselle, "I saw the blueprints in your room, Edward."

"I don't get it," stammered Edward.

"You're obviously the culprit," accused Sara.

"No, that's not true!" protested Edward, "I remember receiving a note telling me to go the rec room at one in the morning and then I suddenly fell asleep!"

"There are drugs in the infirmary that could induce sleep," mentioned Phoebe.

"Can I see the note to prove it?" requested Giselle.

Edward checked his pockets, but couldn't find his note.

"Damn," grumbled Edward, "someone took my note."

Jenna tried putting on the suit, only…

"It's way too big!" exclaimed Jenna, "I can't see anything...not even my feet! And the back doesn't even bend at all!"

"Like I said," reminded Edward, "it wasn't me. I don't even have a clue on what happened in the first place!"

Edward checked his pockets once again, and then…

"Oh no," gasped Edward, "my room key is gone!"

Jenna slowly took off what pieces of the costume she got on in the first place. Ivy checked the murder file and noticed that Nathan's cause of death was in fact having his skull crushed by a different weapon. She had a hard time believing Giselle, but before she could ask, they heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"I personally thank our star detectives for a splendid investigation," announced Loki over the intercom, "now, everyone must assemble at the elevator in the foyer at once. I will be waiting for you in the courtroom."

"I guess we will have to make use of whatever amount evidence we got so far," sighed Ivy, "we should go. Loki is waiting for us."

Ivy, Phoebe, Jenna, Edward, Giselle, Ebony and Sara left the pool and stepped down the stairs into the foyer before arriving at the elevator. Once they stepped inside the elevator, it lowered itself beneath the ground, sinking further until it reached the courtroom. There, Loki was sitting on the throne in his majestic robes, his green cape and horned helmet while holding his scepter. Ivy, Phoebe, Edward and the Mary Sues scrambled for their seats arranged in a circular pattern.

"All right," announced Loki, "court is now in session!"


	20. The Third Palace Trial

"We know who the culprit is," said Giselle, "it's Edward Cullen. He wasn't found anywhere during the incident until after the murders took place."

"I told you it wasn't me!" protested Edward, "I was asleep the whole time!"

"Why did you kill them, Edward?" demanded Sara.

"We found the blueprints and the material in your room," added Jenna.

"Do you even know what Edward's handwriting looks like?" interrupted Ivy.

"You want me to write something down?" asked Edward.

"If we compare your handwriting to the writing on the blueprint," explained Ivy, "it would be easier for us to tell whether or not you built the suit."

"You're wasting your time," barked Giselle.

"Actually," corrected Loki, "I approve of this demonstration."

Loki summoned a pencil and a piece of paper on Edward's stand with a flick of his hand, allowing Edward to write down his name. He then handed the piece of paper to Ivy, who pulled out the blueprint and read both pieces of paper carefully.

"I see that Edward's handwriting is neat," commented Ivy, "and the writing on the blueprint is pretty much sloppy. I think it means that someone stole your room key and used it to access your bedroom, so he can place the building materials into your room and frame you."

"He could've simply changed his handwriting," scoffed Giselle.

"Actually," corrected Ebony, "the handwriting is way too different to be written by the same person."

"Even if Edward may be the only person able to wear the costume," replied Ivy, "that doesn't mean I label him as a suspect. We still weren't able to find another costume, though."

"I'm so confused," sighed Sara.

"Maybe the culprit and the madman aren't the same person," assumed Jenna.

"Do you know how Keanu's corpse was moved, Ivy?" asked Phoebe.

"The culprit moved the corpse by using a vinyl sheet and the trolley," answered Ivy, "the vinyl sheet was used so there wouldn't be any blood left behind. The trolley was originally in the storage room of the shield generator just like the vinyl sheets were."

"You're obviously misremembering," spat Giselle, "that trolley was obviously used to transport sculptures in the art room, so there's no way it could be in the storage room of the shield generator."

"My memory is as sharp as a knife!" countered Ivy, "how do you explain the blood on the trolley's tires? The puddle of blood in the shield generator storage room had tracks that matched those tires. The culprit must've accidentally rolled the trolley through the blood."

"If the culprit wasn't Megatron," clamored Sara, "then which Megatron was it?"

"I'd rather not worry about Megatrons right now, Sara," sighed Ebony.

"Shouldn't we go back over what happened when Keanu's corpse was removed?" proposed Jenna.

"It's possible that the culprit killed Keanu in the shield generator storage room and removed his corpse," replied Sara.

"But that trolley doesn't have a handle," mentioned Giselle, "but you could just bend over."

"Could you really bend over to move the trolley while wearing the Megatron suit?" objected Ivy, "that should be impossible."

"Oh, right," crooned Ebony, "it's because you can't see your feet or bend your back while wearing the costume!"

"Couldn't you have removed the costume to move the body?" mentioned Giselle.

"No," answered Ivy, "because you can't take it off yourself, so you had to have someone else remove it for you. That means someone else moved Keanu's body."

"What about the photograph I took?" reminded Giselle.

Giselle showed everyone in the courtroom the picture in the digital camera.

"It's still too early to draw a conclusion," interrupted Phoebe.

Phoebe and Ivy spent the next few minutes refreshing the events of the incident, not naming the culprit.

"It's possible that we discovered the corpses at the same time," assumed Ebony.

"So Nathan's body disappeared first," replied Jenna, "and then Keanu's."

"I don't think we should see this as a series of incidents," suggested Phoebe, "but as individual incidents."

"Isn't it obvious that Keanu was killed after Nathan was?" pondered Sara.

"I highly doubt it," objected Ivy, "what if the numbers of the Mega Hammers were just a diversion by the culprit?"

"Then that would mean Keanu was killed first," clarified Phoebe, "his broken wristwatch was just proof enough, since the hands stopped just after six a.m. It might've been broken when the culprit attacked him at that time. That means he was murdered before any of the incidents."

"So the culprit intentionally numbered the weapons and had them increase in size," declared Ivy, "just so we would assume the incidents occurred according to their numbers. Keanu must've been murdered before we met in the dining hall."

"Then what do you have to say about Nathan's murder?" reminded Edward.

"When Sara and I were in the bathroom," said Giselle, "Nathan's corpse disappeared while everyone else was upstairs. And we were all gathered in the infirmary when Keanu's corpse was moved."

"I was searching for the madman by that time," replied Phoebe, "we still don't know how Nathan's corpse was moved."

"All we know that Nathan's corpse was moved in approximately one minute while Giselle and Sara were away," said Ivy, "but Nathan is rather large to be moved by someone with lack of strength."

"What if the corpse moved itself?" inquired Phoebe.

"What?!" warbled Ivy.

"There's a possibility that Nathan was still alive when we discovered Keanu's corpse," assumed Phoebe.

"He was alive?" gasped Sara.

"Nathan was probably faking his death," explained Ebony, "what a sneaky motherfucker!"

"That's impossible," disagreed Giselle, "because when the Corpse Discovery Announcement was made, it was made obvious that Nathan was dead."

"What if the Corpse Discovery Announcement was for Keanu?" objected Ivy.

"It is only made when three mortals first discover a corpse," reminded Loki.

"And we also heard another announcement when we found Nathan in the art storage room," added Ivy, "which proves my point. Also, when I first saw Nathan in the infirmary, there was blood covering his glasses. But when he moved to the art storage room, his glasses were clean."

"Do you have any proof?" asked Giselle.

"He used his glasses cloth to clean them," answered Ivy, "I found it in the infirmary trash can. He couldn't see with the blood on his glasses, so he cleaned them himself before leaving the infirmary."

"Then where did all of that blood come from?" asked Sara.

"He probably used the blood stocked for transfusions from the infirmary fridge," replied Phoebe, "we could assume that Nathan was the one who moved Keanu's corpse."

"Would that make him a perpetrator instead?" paused Jenna.

Ivy pulled out the note from her fanny pack and showed it to everyone in the courtroom.

"It's possible that Nathan wrote this to Keanu," said Ivy, "so that way he would kill him in the shield generator storage room at six a.m."

"Wait a minute," exclaimed Edward, "I received a similar note telling me to go to the rec room at one a.m.! Keanu must've been deceived like me."

"Although the note speaks of destroying the shield generator," interrupted Loki, "so I will have to place a new rule: No one is allowed to destroy the shield generator...not even damage it."

"Still," mentioned Ebony, "where did you get the note and why?"

"I found it in Nathan's pocket," answered Ivy, "he must've taken it from Keanu's dead hands, and I even found a scrap of paper in Keanu's hand to prove it."

"Then that means Nathan knew it was a piece of evidence and intended to destroy it," replied Phoebe.

"Then," clamored Jenna, "who killed Nathan?"

"I was getting to that," replied Ivy.

Ivy pulled out the white fur and showed it to everyone in the courtroom.

"Before I went into the art storage room," explained Ivy, "I found a trail of white fur leading to it."

Giselle froze in fear and her eyes widened in shock before she turned her head away.

"Plus," continued Ivy, "while we were in the storage room, Nathan's dying words was 'it was a wolf'. And when I inspected Nathan's corpse, I found bite marks indicating that his head was crushed by a set of jaws, since the murder file indicated that the weapons were different for both Keanu and Nathan. We know that Keanu died from blunt force trauma, so what do you think could've killed Nathan?"

"Oh no!" gasped Sara, "Loki has been letting wolves into the palace!"

Everyone else in the courtroom facepalmed.

"Really, Sara?" groaned Phoebe, "really?"

"I would never stoop to such a level," added Loki.

"See?" chirped Ivy, "there you go."

"Then where did Nathan get the hammers?" asked Ebony.

"He probably used the hammers from the art storage room," answered Ivy, "getting back to the wolf part..."

Ivy focused her eyes on Giselle, who shot a glare at her.

"Giselle," reminded Ivy, "on the day we were kidnapped and brought to the palace, you turned into a wolf and attacked Loki."

"What of it?" demanded Giselle.

"That means even I know that you can transform into a wolf," explained Ivy, "and you volunteered to search the third floor after Keanu's corpse disappeared."

"Don't tell me you're accusing Giselle of committing the murder!" barked Sara.

"I'm starting to suspect that the photo has been fabricated as well," continued Ivy, "and you persuaded Nathan to cooperate in the crime. After all, you and Nathan were the only ones who witnessed the madman. You even sent us on a goose chase, and that strange scream you made on the third floor while we were searching for the madman on the second floor gave Nathan a signal. When you helped Sara to the bathroom, you gave Nathan an opportunity to escape."

"How could I fabricate a photo and send you on a goose chase?" protested Giselle, "you have no proof!"

Ivy glared at Giselle in a moment of silence.

"Maybe not," said Ivy, "but I brought together the pieces of the puzzle. At some point, the culprit made a deal with Nathan and he set off to build the Megatron suit. Nathan deceived Edward into entering the rec room at one a.m., where he drugged him. He stuffed Edward into the Megatron suit and posed for the photo in a way that it would look like Megatron was kidnapping Nathan. After they stuffed Edward into the closet at the pool, Nathan lured Keanu into the shield generator storage room, where he killed him with Mega Hammer #4. The culprit and Nathan then claimed to have been attacked and sent us on a wild goose chase for the madman by first having us find Nathan injured in the library. When we left Nathan in the infirmary, he used a transfusion bag to coat his head in blood and made use of Mega Hammer #3 so he could fake his death. This was how we discovered Nathan and Keanu at the same time. Once we left the infirmary, Nathan seized a chance to slip away to the third floor, so he could move Keanu's corpse to the art storage room while we were distracted, and then the culprit finished him off. What do you have to say for yourself, Giselle Yvonne Delacroix?!"


	21. Nasty Secrets After the Execution

"How could you even prove it?" demanded Giselle, "what makes you think I'm the culprit?!"

"Don't you remember the argument you had with Keanu yesterday?" reminded Ivy, "I witnessed you interrogate him on the fact that he spied on us while we were taking our bath."

Giselle froze in shock.

"You seemed so upset with Keanu after he told you that he even showed the pictures with Nathan," continued Ivy, "which was probably motivated you to trick Nathan into helping you kill Keanu and then later on you would kill Nathan yourself."

Giselle glared at Ivy in a moment of silence. At the same time, Phoebe, Edward, Ebony, Jenna and Sara gave Giselle a puzzled look.

"Well, guess what?" growled Giselle, "if Keanu had never stolen the camera and taken pictures of us while we were taking a bath, he never would've had to face my wrath."

"So you admit it?" paused Edward.

There was another moment of silence.

"Have you reached a verdict?" asked Loki.

Ivy turned her head at Loki.

"We have, your honor," nodded Ivy.

"Then cast your vote," instructed Loki, "who is the villain of the palace? Will your answer be correct or will your answer be wrong?"

Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Jenna, Ebony and Sara flipped through the names using the switches on their stands and then cast their vote. Loki glanced at the name on the screen before returning his gaze at the jury.

"Your answer is correct," announced Loki, "the villain responsible for Nathan Quentin Uberto Emerentius and Keanu Baden Haviland Hunter's death is...Giselle Yvonne Delacroix!"

"Giselle," gasped Jenna, "why?! Why would you do this?"

"Keanu was the one who spied on us," admitted Giselle, "and he even showed the pictures to Nathan. They deserved what they got."

"I understand that you are angry at them for violating your privacy and your boundaries," replied Loki, "but you do realize that a desire for vengeance can easily cloud your judgment, true? You could've asked me to deal with them and I would've carried out the disciplinary action for you."

"But what if they kept doing it again?" protested Giselle, "I had to put an end to it before they end up raping someone."

Giselle let out a sigh.

"I was also hoping to get out of here so I can win back my sun and stars," continued Giselle, "but that's no longer a possibility anymore."

"What do you mean?" paused Ivy.

"Before I joined the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," answered Giselle, "Optimus broke up with me. I thought that by joining this organization, I can win him back. But, I guess they lied to me."

"But Giselle," protested Sara, "God can give your sun and stars back to you if you pray hard for it!"

Giselle shook her head.

"Before you end me," requested Giselle, "I want to send a message to Optimus, since I'm never going to see him again. Would you please grant that wish?"

"Very well," nodded Loki, "you may start at any time."

Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Jenna, Ebony and Sara fell silent as they focused their eyes on Giselle.

"Optimus Prime," announced Giselle, "wherever you are, there are some things I have to say before I pass on. I was glad you wanted to commit to me once I came of age, even if you told me you didn't want Sentinel to know you were gay. Of course, I was more than happy to please you because I was in love with you. I have a confession to make: I told your mentor, Sentinel Prime, of your sexual orientation, and he said that he was ok with it. In fact, he is looking forward to confess his feelings for you. You'll just have to ask him. I'm sorry if we were never meant to be, so you'll have to live on without me. In the end, I was glad that I gave my virginity to you…before my passing. So, goodbye, Optimus. I would pray that you would soon forget about me."

Once Giselle ended her speech, Loki produced some sort of object that contained the recordings. Giselle lowered her head, closed her eyes and brought her hands to her chest.

"The time has come for you to succumb to justice," announced Loki.

Loki stood from his throne and raised his scepter into the air, its gem glowing which teleported Giselle out of the courtroom. The God of Mischief led Ivy, Phoebe, Edward, Jenna, Ebony and Sara through the corridor until they reached the execution grounds, but there didn't seem to be anything here except for Giselle, who was lying on the ground. Without warning, Loki waved his scepter and a stone giant emerged from the ground. Sara wanted to turn her head away to avoid witnessing what was about to come, but she couldn't. The stone giant slowly approached Giselle and raised its foot into the air and crushed her with it, splattering blood on the ground. Edward glared at Loki, a sense of hatred building in his eyes. Jenna rested her head on Ebony's shoulder and started crying, unable to handle the passing of one of her close friends. While Phoebe zoned out, Ivy started suspecting that she would have a hard time trusting the remaining guests in the palace. Watching many of the Mary Sues die from either murder or execution was starting to put a strain on her, and she felt like she just wanted to scream in frustration, unable to handle the stress. Ivy turned and stormed out of the execution grounds and headed for the courtroom, catching Loki's attention.

"Ivy?!" exclaimed Loki.

The instant he realized that Ivy was gone, Loki turned his head at Phoebe, Edward, Jenna, Ebony and Sara.

"You are all dismissed," said Loki, "I will open the fourth floor in a few hours."

Upon cue, Phoebe, Edward, Jenna, Ebony and Sara left the execution grounds and headed for the elevator in the courtroom. Loki used his magic to change his robes back into his everyday apparel, ditching the helmet and the cape before he walked down the hall and stepped into the courtroom, where he found Ivy crouching in the corner of the courtroom while hugging her knees to her chest.

"Aren't you going to return to the palace?" asked Loki.

"I can't do this," stuttered Ivy.

"What do you mean?" paused Loki.

"I had to run around the palace to deal with the incident all morning," explained Ivy, "and I trusted Giselle. I never thought she would become such a traitor. I was this close to befriending her, and the way she committed the crime devastated me. I tried to keep myself steady while I investigated, but this is all too much for me..."

Ivy was on the verge of crying, so Loki pulled her into an embrace, gently stroking her back in an attempt to soothe her.

"I understand you are having a rough time right now," murmured Loki, "but I happen to realize that many detectives can be stressed on their jobs. My advice for you would be to find a way to cope with stress without letting it destroy you."

Ivy glanced up at Loki.

"What do you think would've happened if you didn't kidnap us?" asked Ivy.

"The Mighty Forces of the Holy Church would probably force you to convert to their religion," answered Loki, "and you would've lost your free will."

"You still don't like that organization?" pondered Ivy.

"How about I take you to my bedroom and I'll explain everything to you?" offered Loki, "you have done well in solving the crimes with help from your friend, so I believe it is worth the reward."

Loki helped Ivy stand to her feet and teleported her out of the courtroom and into the foyer. He then led her up the stairs into the second floor and down the hall until they reached the door to the master bedroom. Loki unlocked the door and invited Ivy inside, both of them unaware that Edward saw both of them entering the master bedroom. Loki beckoned Ivy to sit in the canopy bed, and it was only moments later before he sat down next to her.

"Are you or any of your family members religious?" asked Loki.

"No," answered Ivy, "although my grandparents went to church frequently. And right now, my grandpa is dealing with cancer."

"Did your grandparents ever force anyone else to convert to their religion?" inquired Loki.

"No," Ivy shook her head.

Loki stood from the bed and walked over to the shelf to retrieve a few files and then returned to the bed before showing the files to Ivy.

"These are the most essential files that I found during my time undercover at the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," said Loki.

"You went undercover?" paused Ivy.

Loki nodded.

Ivy took several minutes to read the files carefully. She quickly noticed that the files contained objectives of the organization which included eradicating the other religions, eradicating atheism, making gayness and lesbianism illegal, banning abortions no matter what reason to the point those who had abortions would be harshly punished, forcing rape victims to marry their rapists under the threat of death, banning birth control and enforcing abstinence until marriage, which would impose that girls who participated in premarital sex would be stoned to death, denying assistance to the poor and forcing them to work for no money, reinstating slavery for the other races except for white, promoting police brutality, making feminism illegal, making women nothing but property and eradicating evolution; but worse of all, forcing everyone to live their lives as extremist intolerant Christians, which was not Christianity was originally about. To make matters worse, the files also contained plans to eradicate many governments of multiple countries across the world to install their so-called laws of God.

"Ok," commented Ivy, "that is just wrong. I know some Christian friends that would never act that extremist, and they even donate to charities that help the poor."

"Now do you understand the problem with this organization?" replied Loki, "I was able to get as much important information from someone called Dr. Erik Selvig before I abducted you so I could come up with a plan to take it down."

"So what's your plan?" asked Ivy.

"I intend to record the location of the main headquarters and have this interesting agency called SHIELD warn the rest of Midgard so that way the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church cannot take over so easily," explained Loki, "originally, they had the Tesseract which they could use to spread their dominion across the Nine Realms. After being kept prisoner by an alien warlord for a while, I managed to steal his scepter and use the Tesseract to teleport to Midgard so I can escape. When I arrived, I became suspicious of the organization that possessed it, so I retrieved it and teleported to this realm where the palace is residing."

"I've been wondering how you were able to hijack a palace from a different kingdom," pondered Ivy.

"It was actually abandoned when I first came here," corrected Loki, "so I refurbished it to my liking."

"So how long have you been undercover at the organization?" asked Ivy.

"For at least two weeks," answered Loki, "the other guests of the palace, except for you and Phoebe, are loyal members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church assigned to spread their dominion, so I targeted them because of that."

Ivy took a few minutes to think over what she just discovered. She now had lost faith in the Mary Sues and Gary Stus that were with her and Phoebe when they were taken to the palace. She now found herself thankful that Loki chose her for his next objective.

"Ok then," nodded Ivy, "I'll help you."

"Thank you, my lady," smiled Loki, "you are free to leave if you wish, although you should wait a few hours before you go exploring the fourth floor."

Nodding in agreement, Ivy pressed her lips against Loki's.

"Meet with me at the palace courtyard tomorrow," advised Loki.

Ivy returned the files to Loki and stepped out of the master bedroom. Once the trickster god locked the door using his magic, Ivy sprinted down the stairs into the foyer and into the east hall until she reached the dormitories, hoping to get some rest until the fourth floor is ready.


	22. The Fourth Floor

Later that day, Ivy was about to fall asleep when she heard the doorbell ring, so she got out of bed and approached the door to open it. Outside, Phoebe was waiting.

"Hey, Phoebe," chirped Ivy.

"Loki just opened the fourth floor," said Phoebe, "according to him, it's the last floor."

"So you want me to go exploring with you?" clamored Ivy.

"If you'd like," answered Phoebe.

Ivy stepped out of her dormitory bedroom and locked the door behind her. She then followed Phoebe to the foyer where they ascended the stairs to the fourth floor. They stepped into the music room, which was filled with a variety of instruments. They also noticed Edward exploring the music room as if he couldn't contain his excitement.

"Do you think Edward has a musical talent?" pondered Ivy.

Ivy's question was just enough to catch Edward's attention.

"I can play the piano," answered Edward, "what about you?"

"I don't have a musical talent," admitted Ivy.

"I played the flute in my middle school band," replied Phoebe, "would you like to watch me play it at some point?"

"I'd love to," nodded Ivy.

Edward approached the piano after finding some notes and placing them on the stand.

"Ok," called Ivy, "we're going to keep exploring. You just enjoy yourself."

Edward didn't say anything, but he started playing the piano as Ivy and Phoebe left the music room to continue exploring. The continued exploring until they stepped into the chemistry lab. They took note of the various chemicals in the cabinets as well as the instruments that a scientist would use to conduct experiments.

"Good thing Loki provided some aprons and safety goggles," said Ivy, "I would hate having my eyes burned out. Does that mean he cares about our safety unless it involves a murder?"

"Didn't you say that Loki was the trickster god?" reminded Phoebe.

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "I did."

Ivy and Phoebe left the chemistry lab and wandered around the fourth floor until they reached the weapon room.

"Oh, crap," muttered Ivy, "I have a feeling that one of the guests will use one of these weapons to commit the next murder. Should we ask for a rule to forbid everyone from taking weapons from this room?"

Loki teleported into the room.

"I don't think there needs to be a rule concerning the weapon room," answered Loki, "you are free to use these weapons to defend yourself...or commit the next murder, if that's what you're planning."

"I would I even want to kill someone?!" protested Ivy.

"For ascension from the palace, remember?" reminded Loki.

"That was for the guests," objected Ivy, "you gave the star detectives, aka us, a free pass on the executions."

"Didn't I give you my reason why I made you my star detectives?" mentioned Loki.

"Well, yeah," nodded Ivy.

Phoebe gave Loki a puzzled look, not understanding what he meant. It was only moments later before Loki left the weapon room.

"What did he mean?" asked Phoebe.

"We'll explain later," assured Ivy.

"Ok," nodded Phoebe.

Ivy and Phoebe left the weapon room and continued exploring the fourth floor. They came across a door that indicated that it led to Loki's study. Phoebe tried to open it, but it was locked.

"I guess we're not allowed in this room," commented Ivy, "we should move on."

Ivy and Phoebe continued their exploration until they found the observatory.

"Want to try the telescope?" chirped Ivy.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try," answered Phoebe.

Phoebe approached the telescope and carefully peered into the lens, only to find a vast array of stars.

"It's beautiful," smiled Phoebe, "I never looked through a telescope before, let alone had one."

"Then that means today's your lucky day," replied Ivy.

After a few minutes, Phoebe stepped away from the telescope.

"Ok, I'm done using it," said Phoebe, "would you like to give it a shot?"

"Thanks, Phoebe!" smiled Ivy.

Ivy peered into the lens of the telescope and admired the stars from far away. It had been long since she felt so calm. At the same time, she had a feeling that since there were fewer Mary Sues and Gary Stus left, Loki would be much closer to his next objective.

"Maybe Loki wanted to test our skills as detectives," Ivy said to herself.

"Why do you say that?" asked Phoebe.

Startled, Ivy yelped and snapped her head at Phoebe.

"I...I was just...thinking...out loud," stammered Ivy.

"Thinking about what we've been through for two weeks?" clarified Phoebe.

"Kinda," nodded Ivy.

"Those murders we've seen in this palace occurred in real life," explained Phoebe, "I'm not sure if you would recreate the murders in those crime shows you watch, but investigating crimes in real life are not that easy. Criminals would often do whatever it takes to get away with it unless they are stupid. And keep in mind, Loki has to take responsibility for what he did at some point, no matter what the motive is."

"I'll try talking to him about it later," assured Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe left the observatory.

"I guess that's it for our tour," said Ivy.

"Would you like to see me play the flute?" asked Phoebe.

"Sure!" nodded Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe returned to the music room, only to notice that Edward wasn't in the room, so Phoebe found the flute and searched for some music sheets before she began playing. To Ivy, Phoebe's solo sounded really beautiful that it didn't need more instruments to add to the music.

* * *

Later that night, after dinner, Ivy returned to her dormitory bedroom and disrobed before stepping into the bathroom. Since nighttime wasn't in effect yet, she stepped into the shower and turned it on, taking care to wash her hair and her body. After she coated her body with soap, she used the shower head to rinse it off, pondering over what Loki would want her to do when she was supposed to meet him the next morning. Soon, Ivy finished rinsing off the soap, so she returned the shower head back to its original position before shutting the water off. She stepped out of the shower stall and dried herself off before stepping back into the bedroom, where she slipped on her pajamas. She checked the time on the clock, only to realize that nighttime would be in effect in several minutes.

Remembering everything Loki said to her after the palace trial, Ivy pulled out her notebook and her pencil and began writing down information about the Mary Sues and Gary Stus being the most dedicated members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church and how the organization consists of Christian conservative extremists. By the time she was done writing, she heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"Nighttime is now in effect," announced Loki over the intercom.

Figuring that she should get some sleep, Ivy placed her notebook on her dresser and stashed her pencil into the drawer of her desk. She was about to lay down on her bed when she suddenly heard the doorbell ring, prompting her to answer it. On the other side, Loki was waiting for her in his nighttime apparel.

"Ok," sighed Ivy, "what do you want?"

"Is it all right if I keep you company tonight?" requested Loki.

"You're really that interested in me, aren't you?" asked Ivy.

Loki let out a small chuckle.

"Like I said," answered Loki, "it's your talent that earned my trust."

Nodding in agreement, Ivy took a few steps backwards, allowing Loki to step into the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and locked as Ivy approached the bed. He walked over to the dresser, eyes glued to the notebook.

"Do you mind if I have a look?" requested Loki.

"I don't know, Loki," stammered Ivy, "it has some weird stuff in it."

"I don't mind reading anything you would consider, weird," smirked Loki.

Ivy reluctantly nodded, allowing Loki to skim through the pages of the notebook until he stopped at one page, so he took a few moments to read it.

"I should've known that you've been secretly desiring me," commented Loki.

Ivy instantly blushed as Loki focused his eyes on her.

"Loki, I can explain," stuttered Ivy, embarrassed.

"I'm listening," replied Loki.

"That was about a dream I had two nights ago," explained Ivy.

"You dreamt about me?" clarified Loki.

Embarrassed, Ivy reluctantly nodded. Loki set down the notebook and sat down on the bed.

"Tell me, my lady," purred Loki, "what do I do to you in those dreams?"

"That was just one dream," Ivy protested softly, "I didn't even get to the good part, like most of my dreams do."

"Well, that's disappointing," commented Loki, "do you desire to finish off what your dream started?"

"I'm...not ready, yet," stammered Ivy.

"I understand," assured Loki, "I'll wait until you're ready."

Loki flicked his hand, which turned off the light before resting his feet on the bed and lying down. Ivy scooted closer to the God of Mischief and nestled into his chest, compelling him to wrap his arms around her. Ivy rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and closing her eyes. Not wanting her to feel cold, Loki used his magic to pull the covers over both of them.

"Thanks, Loki," smiled Ivy.

Smiling, Loki gently stroked Ivy's back.

"You're welcome," replied Loki, "out of all the maidens I could court with, you stand out the most."

"Why is that?" asked Ivy.

"Besides your talent," answered Loki, "you appear to be strong-willed, which appeals to me."

"It's necessary if I want to solve crimes," clarified Ivy.

Loki softly kissed Ivy's forehead as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Loki wondered if Odin would accept Ivy as a potential mate for the trickster god despite the fact that she is mortal...or not.


	23. Vicious Edward

The following morning, Loki left Ivy's dormitory bedroom so he could make the morning announcement, allowing her to change into her daytime apparel. After brushing her hair, she fastened her fanny pack and left her dormitory bedroom, taking care to lock the door behind her. She headed for the dining hall and served herself some breakfast. She noted that Edward, Phoebe, Jenna, Ebony and Sara were also in the dining hall. Once Ivy finished eating her breakfast, she carried her set of dirty dishes to the kitchen and set them on the counter. She then stepped out of the kitchen through the dining hall and wandered down the hallway until she reached the foyer. She headed outside into the courtyard and waited at the fountain. After a while, Loki emerged from the palace holding some sort of container with a glowing blue cube inside.

"What's that?" asked Ivy.

"We're using the Tesseract to teleport to Midgard," explained Loki, "remember when you told the others about the story you wrote before the second murder?"

"Yeah," nodded Ivy.

"I'll take you to your apartment," replied Loki, "so you can retrieve it. Is that acceptable?"

"Thanks, Loki!" smiled Ivy.

Ivy approached Loki and paused for a moment, not sure what to do.

"Uh," inquired Ivy, "how do I operate this thing?"

"Just turn the handle and don't let go," advised Loki.

Upon cue, Ivy grabbed the handle and rotated it, causing the Tesseract inside the container to teleport both Ivy and Loki to Midgard and they landed outside the apartment. After rotating the handle back, Loki used his magic to dispel the barrier he placed around the apartment and unlocked the door, allowing Ivy to step inside. She searched her bedroom until she found a couple notebooks containing her story. Now that she had her story in possession, Ivy left the apartment and allowed Loki to lock the door before placing the barrier around it with his magic. She followed him outside the building.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" asked Loki.

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, holding out the notebooks.

"I suggest that you hold onto them," advised Loki.

Nodding in agreement, Ivy held the notebooks tightly in her arm and grabbed the handle, allowing Loki to turn his handle, triggering the Tesseract to teleport them back to the palace, but before they vanished, Natasha and Clint spotted them while they were patrolling the apartment building.

"Nat," asked Clint, "did you see what I saw?"

"I did," nodded Natasha, "but I highly doubt that Ivy was conspiring with Loki."

"Maybe Ivy developed a case of Stockholm Syndrome," assumed Clint, "we should at least let the others know that Loki was here."

Once Loki and Ivy returned to the palace courtyard, Ivy let go of the handle and gave the notebooks to Loki.

"Thank you, Ivy," smiled Loki, "I'll take a look at your story once we head inside."

"So how are you going to patrol the palace?" asked Ivy.

"I can send my illusions to do just that," answered Loki, "you are free to continue your life here."

Ivy and Loki stepped into the palace and split up, the trickster god heading for his study while Ivy set off to find the library. Once Loki was in his study, he placed the Tesseract back inside the control room and sat down in his chair, and then he started reading through Ivy's first notebook.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tony, Steve and Bruce were waiting for Natasha and Clint to return from patrol duty. To keep himself from getting bored, Tony played a game on his Playstation Vita, which sparked Bruce's curiosity.

"Sorry to bother you," asked Bruce, "but what are you playing?"

"You mean Dangan Ronpa?" replied Tony.

"I never heard of it," admitted Steve.

"You see," explained Tony, "it's about an evil teddy bear that traps over a dozen high school students inside a high school and forces them to murder each other."

"That sounds rather dark," commented Bruce.

"Yeah," agreed Tony, "and I have no sympathy for the teddy bear."

"Why would you play such a depressing game?" objected Steve.

"I looked into the files of the hostages," answered Tony, "and I came up with a possible theory: Maybe Loki kidnapped them so he could reenact the scenario in Dangan Ronpa."

"I highly doubt that he even played the game," replied Bruce, "even if your theory was correct, that sounds evil."

Before Tony could respond, Natasha and Clint entered the conference room.

"Guys," called Clint, "we just saw Loki and one of the hostages outside the apartment!"

"Well," asked Steve, "did you catch them?"

"Sadly, no," admitted Natasha, "they used the Tesseract to teleport before we could even get closer. We think they came to the apartment to get something."

"If only there was a way to lure Loki into a trap," sighed Clint, "then we could get some answers out of him."

"So which hostage was with Reindeer Games?" inquired Tony.

"It's probably Ivy," assumed Natasha.

"Do you think she was conspiring with him?" asked Bruce.

"I doubt it," answered Clint, "I think she developed Stockholm Syndrome."

"We don't have any means to teleport to wherever Loki is keeping the hostages," said Steve, "so we would have to wait until Loki returns to Midgard and then try to intercept him. Until then, we keep an eye out on the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church."

* * *

A couple days later, life continued on peacefully in the palace. During those days, Ivy and Phoebe would hang out in the library to read Asgardian literature or maybe Ivy would listen to Phoebe play the flute in the music room. They would also play Chess, Mancala or Nine Men's Morris in the recreation room.

At the moment, it was almost noon and now that Ivy had her lunch, she stepped out of the palace and into the courtyard. She wandered around the courtyard until she found Jenna, who was getting the garden equipment ready.

"Hey, Jenna!" called Ivy.

"Oh," crooned Jenna, "so you're going to help me with the gardening?"

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "you seem friendly enough."

"In that case," suggested Jenna, "we should start watering the flowers and maybe we should do some weeding."

"I'll do the weeding," offered Ivy.

"Great!" chirped Jenna, "just be sure to pull the weeds by the roots."

Jenna handed Ivy a pair of gardening gloves, compelling her to put them on. While Jenna started watering the flowers, Ivy began searching for weeds and plucking them out by the roots. By the time an hour had passed, Ivy finished clearing one section of the garden of weeds and Jenna had watered most of the flowers.

"Ok," announced Jenna, "you did great! You can take a break."

"Thanks, Jenna," smiled Ivy.

Ivy pulled off her gloves and placed them in the wheelbarrow before wandering to a bench to rest. She felt happy, since she knew that Jenna was more friendly than the other guests, and she really wasn't that bigoted. While wondering what she could do to get Jenna to side with her, Ivy suddenly noticed Edward approaching her with an angry look in his eyes.

"What do you want?" asked Ivy.

"I saw you with Loki a couple of days ago," spat Edward, "you're hiding something, aren't you?"

"Why would I hide anything?" objected Ivy.

Edward slammed his fist into the bench just next to Ivy, startling her.

"Don't lie to me," snarled Edward, "you made a deal with Loki, didn't you?!"

"What deal?" demanded Ivy, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You helped set up the murder game Loki put us in by rounding us up," accused Edward, "and you helped Loki kidnap us! Bella, Joan, Tiaa and the others are dead and it's all your fault!"

"Wait a minute!" protested Ivy, "I did not set anything up with Loki! I didn't even get his name when we first met in the library!"

"Stop lying to me!" roared Edward, "you had no remorse when you watched them die, isn't that right?"

"You got that wrong!" shouted Ivy, "I was as scarred as much as you were when they died."

Without warning, Edward slapped Ivy hard in the face, causing her to fall to the ground as she winced in pain. She didn't notice that she ended up receiving a cut on her forehead which started bleeding.

"Why are you doing this?" demanded Ivy, "I did nothing wrong!"

Edward raised his fist high into the air and was about to slam it into Ivy's skull, so she quickly rolled out of the way just as he brought the fist down and staggered to her feet and ran for her life. She barely made it to the fountain when Edward rushed after her with his super speed and knocked her to the ground. Edward slowly approached her when suddenly, a burst of flames blocked his path, much to Ivy's surprise. She turned her head to find the source, only to notice…

"Jenna?!" exclaimed Ivy.

Jenna glared at Edward as small flames danced on her palms. She must've manipulated a flame to stop Edward from attacking.

"I'll hold him off," instructed Jenna, "run!"

"But..." protested Ivy.

"I'll be fine," assured Jenna, "just go!"

Ivy staggered to her feet while Jenna manipulated the flame to surround Edward and raced to the entrance of the palace, pushing the door open and sprinting into the foyer, only to stop just inches from Loki, who seemed concerned.

"Loki," stuttered Ivy, "I can explain. Edward tried to kill me, but Jenna stopped him. I...I have to go back and help her! I..."

"Are you all right?" asked Loki.

Ivy couldn't bring herself to say anything, so she collapsed into Loki's arms, prompting him to use his magic to heal the cut on her forehead. The trickster god may have been cruel with his executions, but he did show his caring side, so he held her close, gently stroking her hair. Just then, Phoebe entered the foyer from the east hall and noticed Loki holding Ivy in an embrace, which sparked her curiosity. All Phoebe could do was wait for Loki to leave Ivy alone before she could ask her questions. A couple minutes later, Edward stepped into the palace, and Phoebe noticed that there was blood on his hands. He didn't say anything as he headed for the hallway in search of a bathroom. By then, Loki released Ivy from his embrace.

"You might want to find two people if you are to trigger a corpse discovery announcement," advised Loki.

"Don't tell me..." paused Ivy, trembling with fear.

"I'm sorry, Ivy," mumbled Loki.

Loki turned to leave, allowing Phoebe to approach Ivy.

"You seem to have grown closer to Loki," commented Phoebe.

"I'll explain later," panicked Ivy, "we have to go outside and see if Jenna is ok!"

"What do you mean?" asked Phoebe.

"Edward attacked me and Jenna saved my life," explained Ivy in a wobbly voice, "I'm worried that something bad happened to her!"

"I just saw him come in with blood on his hands," replied Phoebe, "we might be too late."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Ivy frantically opened the door and sprinted out of the courtyard with Phoebe following her. By the time they reached the fountain, Ivy's eyes widened in horror upon the sight of the worst possibility that happened. Jenna's head was submerged in the fountain while her body lay dangling out of the fountain. There was no denying it...Jenna Silverblade was dead.


	24. A Brief Investigation and Trial

Ivy couldn't bring herself to cry or scream as she knelt to Jenna's side.

"She died...because of me," stammered Ivy, "this is...all my fault."

Phoebe placed her hand on Ivy's shoulder.

"Ivy," assured Phoebe, "it's not your fault. She probably sacrificed herself to save you because she cared."

"You think so?" asked Ivy.

Phoebe nodded and then flipped over Jenna's corpse to find the wound that killed her instantly. With her hand, she felt a slight dent on the back of Jenna's head along with a stain of blood.

"My thoughts exactly," commented Phoebe, "the cause of death was blunt force trauma."

"My first thought was that Edward used a weapon from the weapon room," replied Ivy, "but when he attacked me, he wasn't carrying a weapon at all."

Just as Phoebe and Ivy set down the corpse, Ebony emerged from the palace and stepped into the courtyard, only to lay her eyes on Jenna's body.

"Oh my God," marveled Ebony in a loud voice, "it's a dead body!"

Ivy and Phoebe instantly snapped their heads at Ebony.

"Ebony?!" exclaimed Ivy and Phoebe in unison.

"What are you doing out here?" demanded Ivy.

"I heard some commotion at the foyer," explained Ebony, "so I thought I'd check it out."

Before Ivy or Phoebe could say anything, they and Ebony heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"A corpse has just been discovered," announced Loki over the intercom, "it is time that our star detectives investigate the crime before the palace trial."

"Does...that mean…?" stammered Ivy.

"Yes," nodded Phoebe, "we have to investigate the crime."

Ivy pulled out her identification tablet and checked the murder file.

_"Victim: Jenna Silverblade_

_Time of Death: Approximately 1:00 p.m._

_Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the back of the head_

_The corpse was discovered in the fountain of the courtyard."_

Phoebe examined the body again, only to realize…

"It seems that Jenna has lost all her blood," said Phoebe.

"Huh?" warbled Ivy.

Ivy glanced at the body's neck and noticed a bite mark, and then she realized that it was completely drained of blood.

"No way," gasped Ivy, "only a vampire can drink up all the blood."

Ebony approached Ivy and Phoebe.

"In case you fangs were wondering," replied Ebony, "Edward and I are vampires."

"In that case," reminded Ivy, "aren't you supposed to stay indoors? I heard that vampires are weak against sunlight."

Phoebe motioned Ivy to glance at the sky, which appeared to be overcast.

"Oh, never mind, then," stammered Ivy.

"Where were you when the murder took place?" asked Phoebe.

"In the cinema room," answered Ebony, "I was watching other people's DVDs. I guess Link would be devastated when he learns his wife is dead."

"Or maybe he would have to take some time to mourn and then move on," replied Phoebe, "for now, we need to find the murder weapon."

Ivy staggered to feet, and when she made a glance at the statue on the fountain, she noticed that something was off.

"Strange," commented Ivy, "that statue is missing an arm."

Phoebe stood to her feet and examined the statue.

"We're probably going to need to find that missing arm," suggested Phoebe.

"Cool!" chirped Ebony, "can I help?"

"Just don't destroy it when you find it," advised Phoebe, "and if you find it, let us know."

Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony began searching the courtyard for the missing arm. It felt like the search lasted a whole day, but before long, Ivy found what appeared to be a dismembered stone arm lodged hand first into the soil, ruining one of the gardens.

"Phoebe! Ebony!" called Ivy, "get over here!"

After waiting a couple of minutes, Phoebe and Ebony appeared.

"Did you find it?" asked Phoebe.

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "but it's stuck in the ground. Could you help me out?"

Phoebe, Ivy and Ebony teamed up to yank the stone arm out of the ground. Thankfully, with Ebony's incredible strength, they successfully pulled the stone arm out of the ground without breaking it. They set the stone arm onto the ground and carefully examined it, only to find a splatter of blood smeared on the hand.

"I thought so," said Phoebe, "the culprit must've used it to kill Jenna."

Just then, Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony heard the bells ringing over the intercom.

"I personally thank our star detectives for a splendid investigation," announced Loki over the intercom, "now, everyone must assemble at the elevator in the foyer at once. I will be waiting in the courtroom."

"I think I know pretty well who the culprit is," commented Ivy, "and I didn't need a lot of evidence to prove it."

Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony headed back inside the palace and gathered at the elevator in the foyer. There, Sara and Edward have already gathered at the elevator. After a moment of silence, they stepped into the elevator and waited until the door closed behind them. The elevator lowered itself beneath the ground and sank further until it reached the courtroom. There, Loki was sitting on the throne in his majestic apparel including his cape and helmet, and he was wielding his scepter. Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony, Sara and Edward found their assigned seats.

"Court is now in session," announced Loki.

"I can't believe Jenna died," said Sara, "she is such a sweet lady."

"Didn't you check the murder file?" reminded Phoebe.

"Yeah," nodded Sara, "it said that the murder took place at one p.m. I think the culprit attacked her when no one else was around."

"That is partially true," replied Ivy, "but Jenna wasn't the real target. The culprit attacked me first and then Jenna saved my life."

"So who is the culprit?" clamored Sara.

"If I tell you right now," stammered Ivy, "you wouldn't believe me."

"When we discovered her corpse," interrupted Phoebe, "her head was submerged in the fountain. We were able to find the wound that indicated blunt force trauma."

"Then shouldn't there be blood in the fountain?" asked Sara.

"We actually couldn't find any blood in the fountain," admitted Ivy, "in fact, there was a bite mark on her neck, meaning that she was completely drained of blood."

"What kind of villain would suck out all the blood?" objected Sara.

"It's possible that the villain here is a vampire," assumed Phoebe.

"Then Ebony is the culprit," accused Edward, pointing at Ebony.

"Oh, hell no!" protested Ebony, "I may be a vampire, but I didn't kill Jenna! I was watching movies in the cinema room when the murder happened, and if I wanted blood, I would've gone to the infirmary to grab a transfusion bag."

"Gross," muttered Loki, facepalming.

"Back to the subject," said Sara, "if the cause of death was blunt force trauma, then wouldn't the culprit use a blunt weapon from the weapon room?"

"Actually," objected Ivy, "something else was used as a murder weapon. We found a stone arm in one of the gardens and it was probably broken off the fountain statue."

"But how can someone manage to break off a stone arm from a statue?" exclaimed Sara.

"The culprit had to be super strong," explained Ivy, "and since vampires possess superhuman strength, I know another vampire besides Ebony that could've done this."

Ivy glared at Edward.

"What are you staring at?" demanded Edward.

"Don't play stupid, Edward," snapped Ivy, "did you think I'd forget the attack?"

"I did not kill Jenna!" protested Edward.

"That's a lie and you know it! I saw you in the courtyard!" spat Ivy.

"How can Edward be the killer?" asked Sara.

"I saw him come into the foyer," answered Phoebe, "and his hands were stained with blood."

"Is that all the evidence?" clamored Ebony, "can you piece together the events of the crime?"

Ivy nodded.

"While I was taking a break from gardening," concluded Ivy, "the culprit attacked me by smacking me to the ground. He attempted to crush my skull so I dodged and made a run for it. I was only able to reach the fountain when he suddenly knocked me down with his apparent super speed. He was about to move in to strike when Jenna appeared and used her fire powers to hold him back. After she told me to run, she set off to fight him off. I guess the culprit jumped up to the statue and used his strength to break off the stone arm, and after he waited for Jenna to let her guard down, he struck her from behind. He then drank her blood and dropped her into the fountain before hiding the stone hand in the garden. Isn't that right, Edward Cullen?!"


	25. A Pitiful Execution for a Vampire

Edward stared at Ivy, Phoebe, Sara, Ebony and Loki in disbelief as they glared at him. He never thought that his powers as a vampire could easily give him away in this palace. He was starting to panic since he could probably be executed if they voted correctly. He thought of the other Cullens who were anxiously waiting for him back at home.

"So," asked Loki, "have you reached your verdict?"

"We have, your honor," nodded Phoebe.

"Then cast your vote," advised Loki, "who is the villain of the palace? Will your answer be correct or will your answer be wrong?"

Ivy, Phoebe, Sara and Ebony flipped through the names using the switches on the stand. While Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony eagerly cast their vote, Sara hesitated for several moments, not wanting to believe that Edward was the prime suspect.

"Sara," warned Loki, "hurry up! Don't keep me waiting."

After taking a deep breath, Sara cast her vote, her hand shaking nervously. Loki glanced at the screen above the throne and took the time to read the name.

"Your answer is correct," announced Loki, "the villain responsible for Jenna Silverblade's death...is Edward Cullen!"

Ebony glared at Edward.

"You fucking bastard!" snarled Ebony, "we cleared your name on the third trial and this is how you thank us?!"

Edward glared at Loki.

"Tell me," demanded Edward, pointing at Ivy, "did she help you set up this murder trap?!"

"No," answered Loki, "I set up the whole thing myself. I just happened to choose Ivy to play a role in this palace."

"Then why have you been spending time with her?!" interrogated Edward.

"What goes on between me and Ivy is none of your concern," answered Loki, "more importantly, you also violated the eighth rule in terms of assaulting or even attempting to murder one of our star detectives. I could've had you executed right away, Edward, but then you changed your target so I wouldn't notice the previous assault. The time has come for you to succumb to justice."

Edward was about to charge at Loki, but the trickster god quickly stood from the throne and raised his scepter into the air. Once its gem started glowing, Loki's magic teleported Edward out of the courtroom.

"I wanna go home," peeped Sara.

"Follow me," instructed Loki.

Loki led Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony and Sara out of the courtroom and down the corridor until they reached the execution grounds. There, they saw Edward writhing in holy water while bound to a steel pole submerged underneath the holy water.

"Well," commented Ebony, "there goes my appetite for a week."

"Please don't kill him," Sara begged quietly.

Loki didn't respond as he grabbed a wooden stake from nearby while he approached the small pool of holy water. He set the scepter to the side of the pool, raised the stake high into the air and plunged it deep into Edward's chest. Within an instant, Edward fell silent and crumbled to dust. Loki stepped out of the pool and retrieved the scepter before approaching Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony and Sara.

"It seems that there are so few of you left," commented Loki, "I suppose it only takes just one more murder and the last remaining guest will ascend. But the question is which one will it be?"

Sara and Ebony stared at each other, suspicion and mistrust building up in their eyes.

"You are free to leave," continued Loki.

Phoebe, Ebony and Sara left the execution grounds. Ivy was about to leave when Loki suddenly placed his hand on her shoulder, catching her attention.

"I would like to talk to you for a moment," requested Loki, "do you have some time?"

"Yeah," nodded Ivy.

After waiting for the others to board the elevator, Loki led Ivy to the courtroom before he sat down on the throne, using his magic to change from his majestic robes to his everyday apparel. He beckoned her closer, so Ivy stepped closer until she was just inches closer to the throne.

"Why don't you sit with me?" suggested Loki.

Ivy instantly blushed as she hesitated. After a moment of silence, she climbed into his lap. Upon cue, Loki pulled her into an embrace.

"I saw Edward attack you through the surveillance cameras," said Loki, "I was intending to save you myself, but when I reached the foyer, one of my duplicates told me that Jenna stopped him and gave you a chance to escape."

"I should've helped her," muttered Ivy, "if only I went back out there and helped her fight Edward, then maybe...the murder would've never happened."

"That would've been too dangerous for you," disagreed Loki, "had you gone back out into the courtyard, Edward would've killed you, too. I do not want you to die in this palace."

Ivy studied Loki's face and happened to notice that he appeared to be concerned.

"I'm sorry if it's too much to ask," asked Ivy, "but...is that your way of saying...you care about me?"

Loki didn't say anything, but he gave Ivy a soft smile as she rested her head on his shoulder. He gently stroked her head, causing her to lean into the touch. She responded by cupping his face with her left hand.

"Do you think Jenna sacrificed her life to save mine?" asked Ivy.

"If that's the case," answered Loki, "I would be willing to honor her heroic deed despite her affiliation."

Smiling, Ivy lifted her head off Loki's shoulder and leaned in to kiss him. He quickly took the hint and kissed her back. Just then, she remembered the dream she had concerning the trickster god.

"Hey, Loki," mentioned Ivy, "remember when you saw my writing about my wet dream?"

"I do," nodded Loki, "why do you ask?"

"Is it...ok if I try it with you?" requested Ivy.

"You're asking to mate?" clarified Loki.

Ivy nodded.

"How about we talk about it in my bedroom tonight?" suggested Loki.

"Thanks," smiled Ivy.

"You are free to leave," said Loki, "you are also free to tell your friend Phoebe of my objective. Just do not let Ebony or Sara know, all right?"

Ivy nodded in agreement. She and Loki stood from the throne and they stepped into the elevator, which lifted them to the foyer. Once they stepped out, they parted ways. Ivy searched the palace until she found Phoebe in the art room, who was setting up a potter's wheel, a bucket of water and some clay.

"Hey, Phoebe," chirped Ivy, "what are you up to?"

"I thought I could try out some pottery," replied Phoebe, "want to join?"

"Sure," nodded Ivy, "I didn't know you could do pottery."

"I took a pottery class," clarified Phoebe.

Ivy picked out some clay and set it onto her potter's wheel while Phoebe did the same. They both set off to shape their clay, with Phoebe giving Ivy some instructions as they went along. After at least an hour, Phoebe created a vase while Ivy created a bowl. They both stopped the potter's wheel, so Phoebe started up the kiln.

"Ok," said Phoebe, "we should wait until the kiln is hot enough before we bake our creations."

"Right," nodded Ivy.

Phoebe and Ivy waited for a few minutes, and once the kiln was ready, they carefully placed their pottery into the kiln. They waited for a while until the pottery was dry, and then they carefully pulled out the vase and lid without burning themselves or cracking the pottery.

"Not bad for a first timer," commented Phoebe.

"Yeah," agreed Ivy, "that's why I decided to make something simple. I know I would have to get better at it, but still."

Ivy and Phoebe placed their pottery on the table and shut off the kiln before washing their hands. Ivy carefully checked the room to see if anyone else was occupying the room and to her luck, no one else was present.

"Phoebe," requested Ivy, "before we leave, can I tell you something in private?"

"We can borrow the art storage room for that," suggested Phoebe.

Ivy and Phoebe stepped into the art storage room and closed the door behind them. After that, Ivy told Phoebe about the truth Loki discovered concerning the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church.

"I see," commented Phoebe, "so he really was putting our skills to the test. If we are to help Loki take down this organization, we will need to involve others such as Tony Stark."

"How about Director Fury?" suggested Ivy, "he was talking to my dad in the movie Loki gave me before the first murder."

"I agree with you," agreed Phoebe, "but I highly doubt it will be easy to contact him."

"Maybe he has members of SHIELD searching for us," assumed Ivy, "so if we do meet up with him at some point, we could tell him everything."

"Yes," replied Phoebe, "but there's a real chance that Director Fury could label Loki as a dangerous criminal."

"Why is that?" asked Ivy.

"He kidnapped us, remember?" reminded Phoebe, "and he forced the other guests to murder each other while we solved the crimes. That is something Director Fury would not be happy about."

"Can we just not jump to conclusions before we leave the palace?" requested Ivy.

"You're right," nodded Phoebe, "we should reserve our judgment for now. Would you like to play Othello with me?"

"Sure!" nodded Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe left the art room and wandered through the corridor until they reached the recreation room, where they played Othello.


	26. One Special Night With Loki

That evening, Phoebe helped Sara make dinner since Jenna wasn't around anymore, and they made broiled tilapia parmesan. While Ivy, Phoebe, Sara and Ebony ate their food, Ivy glanced around the dining hall, knowing that there were fewer guests than when they started life in the palace. She wasn't even sure if she should feel sympathy for the guests that have died already, apart from Jenna. Once Ivy finished eating, she placed her dirty dishes onto the kitchen counter and returned to the dining hall.

"I'll see you in the morning," said Ivy.

"Who's going to help me with dishes?" clamored Sara.

"I'll help you wash them," offered Phoebe, "you can just do the drying."

"Thanks," smiled Sara.

Ivy left the dining hall and wandered through the foyer in search of the east hall. Once she was in the east hall, she reached the dormitories and entered her bedroom. She removed her clothes and stepped into the bathroom, where she stepped into the shower stall and turned on the water. Ivy took care to wash her hair and her body, hoping to prepare her mind for what she was about to do before she goes to sleep. She considered herself lucky that this was the third time Loki invited her to his bedroom. She even remembered that she went out on dates with a few boys but didn't go any further than that; probably because she was too nervous about sex at that time. Now, she was finding herself comfortable to reach this amount of intimacy with Loki, and yet they haven't even dated yet. To her, that seemed rather odd, if not crazy. She eventually resolved to arrange some dates with Loki after this ordeal, so when she finished washing and rinsing herself, she turned off the shower and stepped out of the stall.

After drying herself up, Ivy slipped on her pajamas and grabbed her fanny pack containing her identification tablet and her room key. She even brushed her teeth, grabbed her hairbrush and her set of clothes to wear the next day. Now that she was prepared, Ivy stepped out of her dormitory bedroom and locked the door behind her. She slipped through the east hall and into the foyer, ascending the staircase and searching the hallway until she reached the door to the master bedroom. After waiting for a few moments, she was about to knock on the door when she suddenly noticed Loki ascending the staircase and approaching the door.

"Oh, dear," commented Loki in a playful tone, "it seems that you beat me to to the door."

"Loki, it's not a race," blurted Ivy, "I was waiting for you."

"I see," replied Loki, "and you seem to be ready to spend the night here."

"That's probably because I'd probably be too tired to return to my room," explained Ivy.

"I understand what you are talking about," agreed Loki.

Loki unlocked the door and opened it before leading Ivy inside. Once the trickster god closed the door behind him, Ivy set her items down on the table while he changed out of his apparel and slipped on his nighttime apparel. When Ivy caught a glimpse of his length, she couldn't help but blush. Once Loki finished changing, he climbed onto his bed before lying in a seductive pose, one finger beckoning her closer. Upon cue, Ivy climbed onto the bed and scooted closer to Loki. She seized her chance and cupped his face with her hand, pulling him into a passionate kiss. The trickster god smirked as he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close as they deepened their kiss. He ran his hands down her sides and back up, reaching underneath her shirt as he tangled his tongue with hers, eliciting a moan out of her. Ivy broke off the kiss and raised her arms into the air, allowing Loki to lift her shirt up and set it aside. The trickster god motioned Ivy to lay on her back, allowing him to massage her breasts as he leaned in and licked her neck. She responded by massaging his shoulders, triggering him to let out a pleased sigh.

"Have you done this before?" asked Loki.

"I have explored myself before," admitted Ivy, "but I never had a sexual encounter with anyone else."

"There's nothing to worry about, my lady," assured Loki, "I'll be more than happy to teach you."

Smiling, Ivy reached her hands underneath his tunic in an attempt to remove them. Upon cue, Loki withdrew his hands and took a few moments to disrobe. As the trickster god leaned closer to her, she traced her hand along a couple burn scars on his chest.

"What happened here?" Ivy asked softly.

"One of Thanos's favorite method of torture was the branding iron," admitted Loki, "he would subject me to it once in a while."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," whispered Ivy.

"Don't be," replied Loki.

Ivy ran her hands along Loki's back as he gently nipped at her neck. He gripped the waistband of her pants and after a few minutes, he lifted his head and pulled down her pants, taking her panties with them. Once he set them aside, she straddled her legs, allowing him to bring his face closer to her folds and gave her folds a gentle lick. Ivy gasped and she gripped the sheets as Loki placed his hand on her stomach and used his magic to stimulate her core, causing her to squirm in pleasure.

"Loki..." gasped Ivy.

Loki didn't say anything, but he gave her clit a well deserved lick. Ivy arched her back and tightened her grip on the sheets as she tried to stifle her moans.

"My lady," purred Loki, "please let out your sweet voice. You offered yourself to me so freely, didn't you?"

Loki slipped two of his fingers inside her, causing Ivy to let out a soft cry.

"There you go," smirked Loki, "that's more like it."

Loki started thrusting his fingers inside Ivy, using his thumb to circle her clit as he placed kisses along her stomach and her chest which elicited moans out of her. Once he was closer to her face, Ivy pulled him into a kiss as he continued to stimulate her core with his magic. In a matter of minutes, she was almost over the edge, so she gripped his shoulder tight.

"Loki, I can't hold it any longer," panted Ivy.

"Do you want me to take you?" murmured Loki.

Ivy nodded. Loki withdrew his fingers and climbed off the bed. He retrieved a small container and a circular piece of...something.

"Is that," paused Ivy, "an Asgardian equivalent of a condom?"

"It's more durable than one," nodded Loki.

Loki attached the Asgardian condom to Ivy's entrance after pouring some water-based lubricant onto it and expanded it by slipping his fingers inside her. He took only a few moments to distribute the substance before withdrawing his fingers. He then removed his pants and positioned himself between her legs. She could feel the tip of his warm erect length at her nether regions.

"Loki, please hurry up," begged Ivy.

"Impatient, are we?" smirked Loki, "very well, let me know if it gets too painful for you."

Loki leaned closer, allowing Ivy to wrap her arms around him as he gave her a gentle kiss. He gripped her hips and pushed his cock inside her, stretching her hymen and causing her to let out a loud cry. The trickster god gently stroked her hair with one hand while he kissed her forehead to soothe her.

"My insides," whimpered Ivy, "they're burning up..."

"You must be feeling my soul rub against yours at the same time I penetrate you," explained Loki, "this is what it means to make love to a god."

Ivy rested her head on Loki's shoulder, and after a few moments, he started rocking his hips into her. She whimpered each time he withdrew his cock until it was at the entrance before rocking it back in again, eliciting a moan from her. She bucked up her hips to match with his thrusts, wanting him to fill her completely. She could hear him moaning as she tangled her legs against his. Smirking, he continued to use his magic to keep Ivy's core stimulated, but after a few minutes, this brought her even closer to the edge.

"Oh, God," gasped Ivy, "yes..."

"Say my name," persuaded Loki.

Loki started rocking his hips a little faster, causing Ivy to bury her face into his shoulder as she tried to stifle her moans, but to no avail. Several strokes later while he used this hand to stroke her clit…

"Loki!" Ivy cried out.

The instant Loki thrust deep inside Ivy, she let out another cry as she came, her walls clenching around his cock as her body shuddered with intense pleasure. Upon cue, the trickster god started thrusting even a little faster and then moments later, he muttered Ivy's name as he released his seed inside her. While she gasped for breath, Loki gently kissed her before withdrawing his length. He then reached down and pulled out the Asgardian condom. With a flick of his hand, it magically vanished. After Ivy finished recovering from her bliss in a matter of moments, she sat up and helped Loki clean up their mess and then they slipped into their pajamas before climbing back into the bed.

"I have to admit," commented Ivy, smiling, "you're pretty good. I just need to get better at this."

Loki gently stroked Ivy's hair, causing her to lean into the touch.

"It seems that you took my lesson well," agreed Loki, "would you be willing to court with me?"

"I would have to introduce you to my parents," mentioned Ivy.

"And I probably have to introduce you to my family," replied Loki, "provided that I discuss with them of what I did."

"So you want to better yourself?" clarified Ivy.

Loki nodded.

"But I must warn you," smirked Loki, "I can play as many tricks on you as I please."

"Oh, that's right," mused Ivy, "you are the Norse God of Mischief."

"Until then," suggested Loki, "we should see if either Sara or Ebony kill the other. Can you handle another investigation when that time comes?"

"I'm not afraid of you anymore," nodded Ivy.

Ivy embraced herself to Loki and began drifting off to sleep. Loki couldn't help but smile as he gently kissed her forehead, sleep clouding his eyes as well. As far as he knew, he would have to be ready to face his brother, his mother and most importantly, his father.


	27. Sara's Desperate Plan

The following morning, while Loki and Ivy were getting dressed in the master bedroom, Sara knelt beside her bed and clasped her hands together.

"Dear Lord," prayed Sara, "if you can hear me, please give me the strength to escape this palace safe and sound. Amen."

Sara continued on with her silent prayer and suddenly felt part of herself escape her body. She turned to her left and saw her clone standing to her feet.

"Good Clone Sara!" chirped Sara, "you're awake!"

Sara got to her feet and gave her clone a chaste hug.

"Did you call me?" asked Sara's clone.

"I prayed to God to give me the power to escape the palace," explained Sara, "and now that you're here, I have a big favor to ask of you."

"Sure!" nodded Sara's clone, "anything you'd like."

Sara leaned closer to her clone's ear.

"I need you to head for the shield generator on the third floor," whispered Sara, "wait for my signal and then destroy it."

"You got it," nodded Sara's clone, "my powers will do the trick."

"Thank you, Good Clone Sara!" chirped Sara.

Sara and her clone stepped out of the bedroom and after Sara locked the door behind her, her clone wandered off to the foyer in search of the stairs leading to the third floor. After waiting for a few moments, Sara wandered out of the east hall and through the foyer, wandering through the other hallway until she reached the dining hall. She could see Ebony waiting at the large table in the center.

"Hi, Ebony," sang Sara, "where are Phoebe and Ivy?"

"Phoebe is making ham and scrambled eggs for breakfast," explained Ebony, "I haven't seen Ivy, though."

Sighing, Sara sat across from Ebony.

"Want some coffee?" asked Ebony.

"No thanks," answered Sara, "I'd like some orange juice."

Sara got out of her seat and headed for the kitchen and served herself some orange juice, she returned to the dining hall just in time to see Ivy and Loki enter the dining hall at the same time.

"They're unusually close," whispered Ebony.

Sara sat across from Ebony just as Ivy and Loki approached the same table.

"I'll be right back out with some tea," said Loki.

"Ok," nodded Ivy, "want me to save a portion of breakfast for you?"

"Thank you," smiled Loki.

Loki stepped into the kitchen as Ivy sat down at the table.

"Ivy," asked Sara, "did something happen between you and Loki?"

"Sorry," replied Ivy, "that's classified."

"Then why were you two walking so closely?" insisted Sara.

"Sara," warned Ivy, "that's none of your business."

Sara sighed in defeat. After a minute or so, Phoebe emerged with the ham and scrambled eggs and a container of shredded cheese. She placed the breakfast on the table, allowing everyone to serve themselves. Ivy set aside an extra portion for Loki before she started eating hers. A couple minutes later, Loki emerged from the kitchen with two cups of tea with some sweet condiments mixed in. He carefully approached the table and set down one cup near Ivy.

"Thanks," smiled Ivy, "I'll trade you."

Ivy handed Loki his portion of the breakfast, allowing him to carry it to another table where he started having his breakfast. Phoebe suspected that Ivy and Loki have grown close for some reason, but kept her questions to herself. Ebony washed down her ham and scrambled eggs with some blood from her glass. Sara wanted to get some answers out of Ivy, but then she remembered that she had a personal objective to accomplish. She quickly finished eating her breakfast and left the dining hall, much to Ivy, Ebony and Phoebe's confusion.

"Sara seems distracted," commented Ebony, "do you think she's up to something?"

"It's probably something to do with another potential murder," assumed Phoebe, "otherwise, I really don't know."

After several minutes, Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony and Loki finished their breakfast and placed the dirty dishes on the kitchen counter before leaving the dining hall.

Sara climbed up the stairs until she reached the fourth floor. She wandered through the hallway until she reached the door to Loki's study. She attempted to open the door, but it was locked. Sighing, she figured that she should contact her clone.

"Good Clone Sara," asked Sara over telepathy, "did you find the shield generator yet?"

"Yeah," nodded Sara's clone over telepathy.

"Destroy it now!" commanded Sara over telepathy.

At the shield generator, Sara's clone activated her final smash, which caused her to sprout one black wing. She then fired powerful dark beams at the shield generator, instantly destroying it. Little did she know, Loki teleported into the room, anger building up in his eyes.

"Sara, I thought I told you and the other guests not to destroy the shield generator," thundered Loki, "you have violated one of the rules of the palace!"

Loki fired a beam from his scepter, hitting Sara's clone and causing her to fall to the floor. She quickly staggered to her feet and turned to face the trickster god.

"So you finally showed up," smirked Sara's clone, "I think I'll just send you to hell!"

Sara's clone fired a dark beam at Loki, but he thought fast and teleported behind her. Before she could turn around, he stabbed her from behind with the blade of the scepter, slowly killing her.

"Sorry, Sara," croaked Sara's clone, "you're...on your own...from now on."

"What?" gasped Loki.

Sara's clone died just as Loki withdrew his scepter.

"Damn it," muttered Loki, "I should've known that was her clone."

Loki sprinted out of the shield generator, hoping to find the real Sara.

Meanwhile, Sara felt pain of losing her clone, but she had to carry on, so she used her godly powers to destroy the lock. This allowed her to open the door and step into Loki's study. She began searching for anything she could use to escape until she found an odd bookshelf. She pushed a set of books to one side, which caused the bookshelf to swing open, revealing a hidden room. She stepped inside and saw the Tesseract secured in a strange container.

"Finally," chirped Sara, "I found the Relic of God! Now I can give it back to the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church."

Sara picked up the container holding the Tesseract, not paying attention to Loki, who just stepped into the control room.

"Sara," commanded Loki, "put the Tesseract back right now."

Sara snapped her head at Loki.

"No!" barked Sara.

"I should've prohibited destroying locked doors," growled Loki, "but that is my property."

Loki took a few steps toward Sara.

"Stay back!" warned Sara.

"You have ten seconds to hand over the Tesseract," demanded Loki.

"No!" snapped Sara, "I won't!"

"Then you leave me no choice but to kill you just like I killed your clone," declared Loki.

Loki charged at Sara, but she quickly shoved him aside and ran out of his study, taking the Tesseract with her. Muttering curses, Loki recovered and began pursuing her. During the pursuit, they passed by Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony at different spots, which caught their attention, so they joined the pursuit. They reached the courtyard under a clear sunny sky, where Loki duplicated himself and had his clones surround Sara, forcing her to pause in her tracks and turn her head at the original Loki. Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony could only watch near the fountain.

"If you hand the Tesseract to enemy hands," warned Loki, "you could endanger the Nine Realms!"

"I don't care!" barked Sara, "my powers come from God!"

"No," corrected Loki, "you obtained your powers and your clone from the Tesseract. I looked into your files and found that they experimented on you."

"You're a liar!" screeched Sara, "if God won't punish you for trapping us here, then I will send you to hell myself!"

Sara activated her final smash, transforming her into an angel. She instantly fired holy beams at Loki's clones, destroying them. She then fired a holy beam at Loki, but he quickly dodged it and charged into battle.

"They're fighting now?!" exclaimed Ebony, "that's extreme!"

"We need to do something," clamored Ivy.

"That could be dangerous," warned Phoebe, "if we get involved, there's a chance we could be killed."

Sara continued to fire holy beams at Loki and he quickly dodged them. Even if the holy beams destroyed some statues and even the garden, he had to wait for a chance to strike. He was even worried that one of these beams could kill Ivy or Phoebe in collateral damage, so he didn't move to the fountain to ensure they didn't get hit. After a few minutes, Sara exhausted her final smash and she returned to normal. Loki seized his chance and fired a beam from his scepter at Sara, knocking the Tesseract out of her hand and sending her crashing to the ground. Thinking fast, Ivy sprinted through the courtyard and snatched up the Tesseract just as Sara staggered to her feet. Ivy quickly ran back to the fountain and Sara was about to pursue her, but Loki used his scepter to block her path.

"Kneel before me!" commanded Loki.

"No!" spat Sara, "I only kneel to God!"

Sara attempted to activate her final smash, but nothing happened. Loki let out a mischievous chuckle.

"It seems that you haven't given yourself just enough rest yet," smirked Loki, "you don't want to exhaust yourself, do you?"

Suddenly, dark clouds appeared out of nowhere and it started raining.

"Strange," commented Ivy, "it was sunny a few seconds ago."

Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony, Loki and Sara saw lightning flash outside the palace and then the sound of thunder a few seconds later.

"Should we head back inside?" asked Phoebe.

"I don't mind getting wet," answered Ebony.

Seconds later, a blond-haired man with a red cape landed near the fountain, catching Loki's attention. He held an interesting hammer in his hand as he approached the trickster god. Sara glared at the man with the red cape.

"Stay out of this!" shouted Sara.

Sara broke free of Loki's grip and charged at the man, but he thought fast and threw his hammer at Sara, knocking her to the ground and pinning her down.

"Brother?!" exclaimed Loki.

Ivy studied the hammer holding Sara to the ground as it suddenly stopped raining.

"That hammer," gasped Ivy, "it's Thor!"


	28. Traveling to Asgard

As Sara fruitlessly struggled to free herself from the Mjolnir, Thor approached Loki, grabbed him by the collar and backed him up against a hedge where Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony could see them.

"Loki," demanded Thor, "what have you done? Where is the Tesseract?"

"Nice to see you as well, brother," remarked Loki.

"Do I look like I'm in a gaming mood?" snapped Thor, "You fell…fell from the Bifrost and we thought you were dead. I thought you were dead."

"And did you mourn me?" asked Loki.

"Of course I did," nodded Thor, "we all did. Our mother, our father—"

"Your father," corrected Loki, "he did tell you, did he not...of my true parentage?"

"It doesn't matter," insisted Thor, "we grew up as brothers, we played together and we even fought together. Do you not remember any of that?"

"I only remember a shadow," replied Loki, "I remember living in a shade of your greatness, unworthy of the throne."

"What if you were given a chance to be at my side?" offered Thor.

"I doubt that your father would allow it," objected Loki.

Thor pulled Loki into an embrace, causing the trickster god to give his brother a puzzled look.

"Come home, brother," begged Thor, "we missed you."

"I wish I could," explained Loki, "but right now, I have a terrorist organization to disband."

Loki wiggled out of Thor's embrace and led him to the fountain, where Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony were standing.

"And I have found two mortals that would assist me in my goal," continued Loki, referring to Ivy and Phoebe.

"The Mighty Forces of the Holy Church?" clarified Ivy.

"We already know of your objective," replied Phoebe.

"That's perfect," chirped Ebony, "because I intend to massacre these religious fanatics when we get back!"

Ivy, Phoebe, Thor and Loki glanced at Ebony.

"Say what?" paused Ivy.

"I deceived the extremists into letting me join," explained Ebony.

"I'm surprised they didn't find out your real objective," commented Phoebe.

"That is not important right now," reminded Thor, "we should return to Asgard."

"You're right," agreed Loki, "but I should gather the files first."

Thor glanced at Sara, who was still struggling under the Mjolnir.

"What should I do with the girl?" asked Thor.

"Just leave her there," suggested Ivy.

"She has unnatural power from the Tesseract," added Loki, "but she has exhausted it for now. She won't be able to activate it for at least a few hours."

Ivy handed the Tesseract to Thor before following Loki, Phoebe and Ebony inside. Loki gathered the files he obtained concerning the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church after instructing Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony to find their stuff in Loki's study. After an hour and a half or so, Loki, Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony emerged from the palace. Thor removed the Mjolnir, allowing Sara to stagger to her feet.

"Hey, Sara!" called Ebony, "I found your silly Bible."

Ebony threw a Bible at Sara, causing her to jump up and catch it. Thor, Loki, Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony gathered near the fountain, only to notice that Sara was standing a few feet away from them.

"Come on, Sara!" beckoned Ebony, "you want to get out of the palace, don't you?"

Sara cautiously approached Thor, Loki, Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony.

"Loki," instructed Thor, "you hold onto the other handle. Everyone else, hold onto us."

Loki grasped the other handle while Ivy and Ebony held onto the trickster god. Phoebe and Sara held onto Thor, allowing Loki to turn the handle, teleporting them all out of the palace and they ended up just in front of the Palace of Asgard, where Odin and Frigga were waiting.

"I found Loki in Niflheim," reported Thor, "and he has indeed recovered the Tesseract."

Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony and Sara let go as Odin approached the group.

"Loki," said Odin, "I know you may have messed up, and I agree, I should've told you earlier. We may not favor Frost Giants, but that doesn't mean we despise you. Why don't you take some time to rest here while we repair the Bifrost now that we have the Tesseract?"

Sara stomped toward Odin, catching his attention.

"No!" snapped Sara, "the Relic of God belongs to the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church! Not heathens like you!"

Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe sighed as they facepalmed.

"Really, Sara," sighed Ivy, "really?"

"Why should I yield to your arrogant attitude?" demanded Odin.

"Because I have God on my side," answered Sara.

"You're in a realm of gods," countered Odin.

"This is not a realm of gods," spat Sara, "this is a realm of liberals, atheists and gays that are out to rape me!"

"You are mistaken, mortal," growled Odin.

Glaring at Odin, Sara shoved her Bible in front of the Allfather, yet he didn't even flinch.

"If you don't become conservative Christians," threatened Sara, "then God will send you all to hell! God sent me to get rid of all the gays and lesbians!"

"Do you think I will easily fall for your bigotry?" argued Odin, "you need to be tolerant."

"You can't tolerate the gay agenda!" shrieked Sara, "they'll turn everyone into gays and lesbians if you don't send them to prison until they die and go to hell!"

"Geez," grumbled Ivy, "and I thought Rush Limbaugh was this bigoted."

"Rush Limbaugh?" paused Thor.

"He's an angry bigoted conservative," clarified Phoebe.

"Tell me, mortal," asked Odin, "did your leaders brainwash such bigoted beliefs into your mind or did you willingly commit to them? In Asgard, we don't discriminate against sexual orientation."

Odin glanced at Loki softly before glaring at Sara.

"If you cause any trouble in Asgard," warned Odin, "I will have you sent to the dungeons. Is that clear?"

Sara didn't say anything, but Odin pushed past her and approached Thor and Loki. He plucked the Tesseract out of their hands. Just then, Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral and Sif appeared, compelling the Allfather to approach them.

"I want you three to take this to Heimdall so he can repair the Bifrost," instructed Odin, referring to Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg.

"Leave it to us," nodded Fandral.

Odin lent Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg the Tesseract and sent them on their way. Odin and Frigga approached Thor and Loki and took turns embracing them.

"Mother," asked Loki, "have I made you proud?"

"You might if you redeem yourself," nodded Frigga.

"Excuse me," interrupted Ebony, "but where can I find some blood?"

"A vampire!" gasped Odin.

Odin, Thor and Frigga surrounded Ebony, weapons at the ready.

"What?" paused Ebony.

Odin turned his head at Loki.

"You brought a vampire here?" asked Odin, irritated.

"She was one of the members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," nodded Loki.

"Loki, do you even realize that by bringing this vampire here," reminded Odin, "you're endangering the people of Asgard?"

"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble," assured Loki.

"No need," offered Sif, "I'll keep an eye on this troublemaker."

"Lady Sif," warned Thor, "she could catch you off guard and drink your blood."

"I'll keep my hands to myself," assured Ebony, "besides, I fucking hate the taste of Asgardian blood."

"Very well," warned Odin, "but if you cause any trouble in Asgard, we will have you executed."

Odin returned his glance at Loki.

"How about we take this matter inside the palace," suggested Odin, "and you can explain everything there?"

Loki nodded in agreement. Odin and Frigga led Thor, Loki, Ivy, Phoebe, Ebony, Sara and Sif inside the palace. Ivy had a feeling that this could be the most important meeting in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Odin may be unlikable in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so I added some headcanons of him and Asgard in this fanfic so he wouldn't be so much a dick.


	29. Meeting at the Banquet Hall

Once they were inside the palace, Odin had himself, Frigga, Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe sit down at a table in the banquet hall while Sif kept a close eye on Ebony and Sara. Loki placed his scepter next to him while he placed the files on the table.

"So, Loki," asked Odin, "do you remember what happened after you fell from the Bifrost?"

"I landed in some sort of command center," explained Loki, "the Chitauri brought me to Thanos, who wanted me to work for him by bringing the Tesseract to him. I didn't trust him, so he subjected me to torture, and he even forced me to watch as he slaughtered innocent people from different worlds in the most brutal manner."

Loki picked up his scepter and showed it to Odin.

"One day," continued Loki, "I seized my chance and stole this scepter from Thanos and used it to contact the Tesseract, which teleported me to Midgard. I arrived in the headquarters of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church and suspected that they were up to no good, so I retrieved the Tesseract from them and used it to teleport myself to Niflheim."

"You could've used it to take you back to Asgard," commented Odin.

"I could've," agreed Loki, "but I was reluctant to do so; probably because I was worried that you were still angry at me."

"Not anymore," replied Odin, "you'll just need to give yourself a second chance. Even I am not perfect."

"Anyways," continued Loki, "I made a home in an abandoned palace and returned to Midgard where I went undercover in the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church. That was how I learned its dark secrets."

"And both the secret and your ordeal with Thanos was what inspired you to abduct the organization's most loyal members and made them participate in this murder game, right?" clarified Ivy.

Loki nodded and then gave the files containing information about the Mary Sues and Gary Stus to Odin, allowing him to study them.

"You are lucky you didn't slaughter hundreds or even thousands of mortals," said Odin, "otherwise, I would have to throw you in the dungeons."

"I understand," replied Loki.

"Do you at least have the means to prove that the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church is troublesome?" asked Odin.

Loki handed Odin the files, allowing him and Frigga to study them for a few minutes.

"I see," said Frigga.

"So this organization consists of bigots?" added Odin, "in that case, you can tell them that if they try to invade Asgard, they will most certainly fail. You're lucky that Asgard does not uphold such ridiculous standards."

"I was thinking the same thing," agreed Loki.

Odin glanced at Ivy and Phoebe before returning his focus on Loki.

"Would you mind telling me more about these humans here?" requested Odin.

"Sorry to interrupt," replied Ivy, "but Phoebe and I are investigating to become criminal investigators."

"So you're dedicated to upholding the law?" clarified Odin.

"And upholding what's right," nodded Ivy.

"I chose Ivy and Phoebe because their talents can help expose the organization's dark intentions to the public," explained Loki.

"I believe we have all the information we need," replied Odin, referring to Ivy and Phoebe, "Thor, Loki, why don't you show these mortals around Asgard? It seems that they would have to stay here until the Bifrost is repaired."

"Thank you, your highness," smiled Ivy, "we won't be any trouble."

Loki and Thor led Ivy and Phoebe out of the banquet hall and down the corridor until they reached the guest rooms, where Ivy and Phoebe set down their items. After that, the girls stepped out of their guest rooms to rejoin with Thor and Loki.

"So how do you plan on showing us around?" asked Phoebe.

"We could show you around the palace," suggested Thor, "and maybe we can borrow one of the flying boats for the tour around the city."

"I'd like that," smiled Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe followed Thor and Loki out of the palace toward the docks, where a flying boat was waiting for them and Odin and Frigga were already onboard. They boarded the flying boat and waited to see if there were more passengers on the way. Minutes later, Sif arrived with Sara as they boarded the flying boat.

"How's Ebony doing?" asked Ivy.

"Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun volunteered to keep Ebony from killing anyone," explained Sif, "they suggested that I take Sara along for the tour."

"I'm worried that she could activate her final smash during the tour," objected Loki.

"Is that...one of her powers?" paused Sif.

"Yes," nodded Phoebe.

"I will deal with her if she attacks us," assured Odin.

"Great," grumbled Sara.

"Come on, Sara," persuaded Ivy, "it's not that bad. Think of this as a chance to learn more about Asgard. We're basically in another world."

"Or rather another realm," corrected Loki.

"That, too," agreed Ivy.

Upon Odin's signal, the pilot flew the boat away from the palace and it hovered over the city. During the flight, Ivy and Phoebe took notice of the interesting buildings and the bustling crowds. Life in Asgard may not be perfect, but it was still standing. The girls even took interest in the landscapes as Ivy could see Phoebe jotting down notes in her identification tablet. Ivy turned her head at Sara, only to realize that she didn't seem to be enjoying herself. She assumed that it's because she was upset since she could not convert Odin; especially when she was still clutching onto her Bible. Although she wouldn't express it, the aspiring detective was surprised that Odin didn't even try to confiscate the Bible like Loki did when he brought them to the palace. She shrugged, figuring that it wasn't even that important, unless the Allfather proved her wrong.

After what felt like a whole day, the flying boat returned to the Palace of Asgard, where Fandral was waiting. Odin, Frigga, Thor, Loki, Sif, Ivy, Phoebe and Sara disembarked the flying boat.

"Is Ebony causing any trouble?" asked Sif.

"Not yet," answered Fandral, "but Ebony wouldn't stop telling us about how she craves blood of these...preps."

"Yeah," admitted Ivy, "I never got involved with any cliques in high school."

Odin gave Ivy a puzzled look.

"It's an education custom in Midgard," clarified Loki.

"I see," replied Odin.

Odin turned his head at Fandral and Sif.

"Why don't you two escort this little girl to her guest room?" requested Odin, referring to Sara.

Odin glanced at Thor and Loki.

"I suggest that you two teach these Midgardians our customs during their stay," advised Odin.

"Oh boy," muttered Thor.

Loki glanced at Ivy.

"Ivy," Loki asked softly, "are you willing to learn some Asgardian customs while you're here?"

"So that way I can adapt if I ever visit this place?" clarified Ivy, "I'll go for it."

"So you're leaving the other girl for me?" paused Thor.

"You're not interested in Phoebe, are you?" asked Loki.

"No," answered Thor.

Loki and Thor focused their eyes on Odin.

"We'll meet you at the banquet hall later," said Thor.

"Very well," replied Odin.

"Do you guys have a library?" clamored Ivy.

"Yes, we do," nodded Loki, "right this way."

Thor and Loki led Ivy and Phoebe into the palace in search of the library while Sif and Fandral escorted Sara to her guest room. Perhaps staying in Asgard for a while might not be so bad.


	30. Sara Steals the Tesseract

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While you read this fanfic, just keep in mind that I'm not insulting any actual Christians. I'm just pointing out the Christian extremists that tend to force their beliefs down your throat. As long as you respect other people's beliefs no matter what beliefs you follow, you are safe.

Over the course of a few days, Ivy and Phoebe were getting the hang of the etiquette lessons from Thor and Loki, especially when it was required at the banquet hall. Odin and Frigga even had chambermaids provide sets of clothes that made it easier for the other Asgardians to recognize Ivy and Phoebe. Phoebe was more interested in learning manners while Ivy was interested in the technology that Asgard had.

At the moment, Ivy just got out of bed, so she changed out of her nightgown and after putting on her underwear, she slipped on an undershirt, some leggings and a tunic. She finished the look by adding a sash belt and a pair of cute boots. She then set off to brush her hair before leaving her guest room to meet up with Loki.

"Morning, Loki," said Ivy.

"Good morning, my lady," replied Loki, "did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "is Phoebe up?"

"She already left with Thor," answered Loki, "they'll be waiting for us at the banquet hall, and Odin sent a messenger to see if the Bifrost is repaired yet."

Loki and Ivy wandered down the corridor until they reached the banquet hall. There, they sat down next to Thor and Phoebe and served them some breakfast before they started eating.

"Morning, Phoebe," sang Ivy, after taking a bite of a sausage.

"I got some good sleep last night," replied Phoebe, "and if you were wondering how Sara and Ebony are doing, they're behaving themselves."

"That's good to hear," smiled Ivy.

Ivy, Phoebe, Thor and Loki continued eating their breakfast, with the Asgardian princes exchanging war stories, much to Ivy's enthusiasm. Once they finished eating breakfast, Odin noticed a messenger entering the banquet hall and approaching him. The messenger whispered something to the Allfather, who nodded in agreement. He then turned his head at his sons and the Midgardians.

"Before you four leave," called Odin, "I'd like to inform you that Heimdall finished repairing the Bifrost and we are about to secure the Tesseract in the vault."

"Does that mean we get to go home?" clamored Ivy.

Odin nodded.

"Thank you, Allfather," smiled Phoebe, "we'll get ready to leave."

Thor and Loki led Ivy and Phoebe out of the banquet hall and down the corridor until they reached the guest rooms, where they packed up their items. Just as Ivy and Phoebe emerged from the guest rooms, they followed Thor and Loki down the corridor, until…

"EBONY," shouted Sara from a distance, "YOU LYING HYPOCRITE!"

Upon cue, Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe scurried down the corridor while following the sound, only to come across Ebony and Sara arguing while Odin, Frigga, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif stood on the sidelines and facepalmed at this ridiculous argument.

"Uh-oh," muttered Ivy, "I don't like where this is going."

"No one asked for your opinion," snarled Ebony, "you preppy bitch!"

"Who are you calling preppy?" demanded Sara.

"Well, look at you," answered Ebony, "you always wear pink, and spend lots of time putting on make-up!"

"I have to so I don't look manly," countered Sara, "because I'm not a lesbian! You wear make-up, too, don't you?"

"Stop denying it, you little bitch!" spat Ebony, "you know you find girls more attractive than boys, you fucking prep!"

"I'm not a prep or a lesbian," disagreed Sara, "I'm a Christian!"

"You can deny it all you want," thundered Ebony, "but I'm sick and tired of not having any blood for days, so I'll just snack on you!"

"Not unless I send you to hell myself!" declared Sara.

"Uh, should we do something before they end up destroying the palace?" stammered Ivy.

Ebony and Sara charged at each other, ready for battle; but before they could even make contact, Odin grabbed Sara from behind while Frigga grabbed Ebony from behind.

"Let me go, you old geezer!" shouted Sara.

"That's enough," scolded Odin, "both of you!"

"You stay out of this, you bitch!" snapped Ebony, struggling to free herself.

"You need to calm down," replied Frigga.

"Why should I be calm?" protested Ebony, pointing at Sara, "that bitch started it!"

"I heard you say that you plan to kill all of the members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," thundered Sara, "I should've known you were worshipping Satan!"

"On the bright side," smirked Ebony, "I hear it's warm and cozy in hell."

"But Satan is evil," protested Sara, "and God will punish you for lying to the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church!"

"I'll bet you can't find the so-called Relic of God by feeling it," teased Ebony.

Provoked, Sara activated her final smash and turned into an angel under Odin's grip.

"Is that her power?" paused Sif.

"Oh no," gasped Loki.

Sara launched holy beams that knocked Odin, Frigga, Ebony, Ivy, Phoebe, Thor, Loki, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif to the ground. Sara then sprinted down the corridor just as the others staggered to their feet.

"This is bad," exclaimed Hogun, "she's heading for the vault!"

"Thor, Loki," instructed Odin, "don't let that girl touch the Tesseract! I'll be right behind you."

Upon cue, Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe sprinted after Sara through the corridor. They scurried through the palace until they descended some stairs taking them straight to the vault. However, they saw Sara picking up the container holding the Tesseract.

"Put the Tesseract down right now!" shouted Thor.

Sara glared at Thor.

"No!" spat Sara, "the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church needs the Relic of God!"

"The Tesseract is property of the royal family of Asgard," snapped Loki, "if you don't hand it over, we will force you to!"

Without warning, Sara fired powerful holy beams that knocked Ivy, Phoebe, Thor and Loki to the ground, causing them to shout in pain.

"Dear Lord," prayed Sara, "please take me back to Earth."

Sara rotated the handle, triggering the Tesseract to teleport her out of the vault just as Odin arrived.

"This is not good," muttered Odin.

After a short while, Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe slowly staggered to their feet, recovering from the blast that hit them. They glanced at the empty spot where Sara used to be.

"Ugh," grumbled Ivy, "she got away."

"There's a possibility that Sara would give the Tesseract back to the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," sighed Loki, "and we would end up in a crisis."

"Not unless we get it back," replied Odin, "follow me."

Odin led Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe out of the vault and into the Hall of Asgard. There, Frigga was holding some sort of high-tech book that was the size of Ivy's identification tablet.

"I had a feeling that this would happen," said Odin, glancing at Loki, "so after looking into the information you gave me, I deem it necessary to send you, your brother and your Midgardian allies into the headquarters of this bigoted organization and take down its offenses and defenses. However, I am not sending your allies into this infiltration mission defenseless."

Once Odin flicked his hand, a couple guards approached Ivy and Phoebe and gave them sheaths containing small swords with blades the size of their forearms.

"Thank you, sir," smiled Ivy.

Ivy and Phoebe attached the blades to their fanny packs.

"I have also taken interest in these Bible Cybers that the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church have created using the Tesseract's power," continued Odin, "you will need a tool that can help you weakening these contraptions by using scriptures that this tool contains."

Upon cue, Frigga handed Ivy the high-tech book.

"Is this...some sort of textbook?" paused Ivy.

"It's one of the few hundred master-tech books," explained Odin, "you can find everything you need to know about Asgard's gradually evolving politics, history and culture. Fortunately, it's far more advanced than the technology Midgardians possess. You just use it to scan the Bible Cyber's lie and find a scripture from that book to counter it."

Ivy stashed the master-tech book into her fanny pack.

"Now that you are all set," announced Odin, glancing at Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe, "the fate of Midgard rests in your hands, and it may be possible that the rest of the Nine Realms could face a serious crisis if the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church succeed in their plans."

"I won't let you down, father," assured Thor.

"There is a flying boat waiting outside to take you to the Bifrost," replied Odin, "the Warriors Three and Sif are already waiting for you with your pet vampire. I wish you luck."

Upon cue, Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe stepped out of the palace and boarded the flying boat on the dock. The pilot flew the boat away from the palace and sailed it over the city, and after a while, it reached the Bifrost, where Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg and Sif were waiting with Ebony. The quartet disembarked the flying boat.

"You're going to take this Ebony with you," asked Hogun, "right?"

"Yes," nodded Thor.

"Good," sighed Fandral, "because she was bothering us about getting Midgardian blood."

"Oh, come on!" protested Ebony, "I can't stay focused if I don't drink blood!"

"You're lucky we didn't kill you," replied Sif.

Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe stepped toward the entrance of the Bifrost. Phoebe turned her head at Ebony.

"Come on!" called Phoebe.

Upon cue, Ebony followed Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe into the Bifrost, where Heimdall was waiting. The gatekeeper activated the portal, allowing the quintet to step into it, which teleported them back to Earth. They hoped that they would recover the Tesseract in time and stop the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church.


	31. Raiding the Headquarters

Sara arrived at the main hall of the headquarters, catching the members' attention.

"Sara!" cheered Reverend Roberts, "you're alive!"

"Yeah," nodded Sara, "and I went through the trouble of finding the Relic of God."

Sara handed the Tesseract to a couple crew members, who removed the Tesseract from the container and into a high-tech briefcase.

"As a reward," offered Reverend Roberts, "you can lead the army of God to battle."

"Thank you, Reverend Roberts," replied Sara.

"So where have you been?" asked Reverend Roberts.

"We've been kidnapped by an evil king named Loki," explained Sara, "he forced us to kill each other and he even executed some of us! I was glad I managed to steal the Relic of God from him."

"So Bella, Edward, Giselle, Jenna, Joan, Atlantiana, Jonas, Nathan, Keanu and Ebony are dead?" clarified Reverend Roberts.

"Yeah, but Ebony is still alive," answered Sara, "even worse, she's planning to kill us all!"

"Oh no," gasped Reverend Roberts, "we will have to kill her with a cross and a stake through her heart."

Reverend Roberts turned his head at Erik Selvig just as the crew members carried the Tesseract and its amplifier.

"We are delivering the Tesseract to its destination as we speak," reported Selvig.

"Very good," replied Reverend Roberts, "but it's called the Relic of God, not the Tesseract."

"Are you sure?" objected Selvig, "Hydra called it the Tesseract."

"No," thundered Reverend Roberts, "it's the Relic of God! Get it right! Anyways, I have no further use for you."

"You're not going to kill me," paused Selvig, "are you?"

"No," declared Reverend Roberts, "but you need to undergo Bible therapy, since you don't seem to like us for some reason. Take him back to his room."

A couple devotees escorted Erik Selvig out of the main hall as Reverend Roberts turned his head at Sara.

"You'll be accompanying the Relic of God to its destination," said Reverend Roberts.

"Ok," nodded Sara.

Sara stepped out of the main hall and exited the building before hopping into a limousine.

* * *

Meanwhile, Thor, Loki, Ivy, Phoebe and Ebony arrived on Earth in a secluded area. Ivy pulled out her smart phone and turned it on, only to find that it was littered with text messages and missed calls from her family.

"My dad is going to have so many questions," commented Ivy.

"Same here," agreed Phoebe.

"You go find the headquarters," suggested Ebony, "I'll go find some prep."

Without warning, Ebony sped away.

"Great," grumbled Ivy, "she ditched us!"

"She probably knows where the headquarters is as much as I do," replied Loki.

"So how are we going to get there?" asked Thor.

"I used my magic to track it," answered Loki, "that should allow you to find it, shouldn't it?"

Thor nodded in agreement and used his senses to locate the headquarters.

"I found it," said Thor, "hold onto me."

Upon cue, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe grabbed ahold of Thor. The God of Thunder twirled his Mjolnir before raising it high into the air, teleporting them to the entrance of the headquarters. Loki, Ivy and Phoebe let go before they and Thor skittered to a secluded area.

"So that's where the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church is," commented Ivy.

"Exactly," replied Loki, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Go on," persuaded Ivy.

"I'd like you to take a picture of both of us in front of the entrance and post it on the network," requested Loki, "that way, those who oppose it will strike it down."

"That's pretty risky," objected Ivy, "because the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church will find out that we're here if I did."

"Odin didn't say anything about avoiding getting caught," assured Loki.

"Then I hope it's worth the risk," replied Ivy.

Ivy and Loki stepped out of the secluded area and stood just feet away from the headquarters. Ivy pulled out her smart phone and took a selfie of herself and Loki. She then checked her Tumblr account and posted the picture with the caption "Found the Headquarters". After that, Thor and Phoebe emerged from the secluded area.

"We're going in," declared Phoebe.

Loki, Thor, Ivy and Phoebe stepped through the entrance of the headquarters and into the lobby.

"Welcome to the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church," smiled the receptionist, "where you see the vision of God and speak the wisdom of God. Would you like an application to join?"

The quartet ignored the receptionist and burst through the door leading to the hallway.

"Wait," protested the receptionist, "you can't go back there! You're not members yet!"

Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe ignored the receptionist's warning and ventured further through the hallway. The receptionist frantically grabbed the phone and dialed the emergency number.

"Security," panicked the receptionist, "send in the Bible Cybers! We have intruders!"

Just then, a siren blared across the headquarters and Bible Cybers began popping out of doors.

"Great," grumbled Ivy, "maybe Odin should've assigned us to use stealth to get in here."

"It doesn't matter," replied Thor, "we must press on."

Ivy pulled out the master-tech book and clutched it tightly in her arms.

"I'll handle weakening these guys," assured Ivy.

Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe approached a Bible Cyber, and then Ivy used the master-tech book to scan the Cyber's lie. She then opened it up and scrolled through the texts and found a text that countered the lie. Once she applied it, the master-tech book disarmed the Bible Cyber, allowing Loki to fire a beam from his scepter at the cyber's weak spot, effectively destroying it. The quartet continued venturing through the hallways, with Phoebe scouting the area into the map on her identification tablet, Ivy used her master-tech book to disarm the Bible Cybers' lies and Thor and Loki took turns destroying the cybers. Interestingly, these lies the cybers gave came from Biblical Gender Roles, which Ivy figured that it used to be a website. When the quartet found the archives, Phoebe used her identification tablet to scan the files stored in the drawers and on the shelves.

"I just don't understand why they should just tolerate other people despite what differences they have," said Ivy.

"Asgardians are still afraid of Frost Giants as of today," admitted Loki, "I'm surprised they didn't say anything hateful about me since I returned."

"That's because you're still Loki, no matter what," replied Thor.

Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe left the archives and continued venturing through the hallways, destroying Bible Cybers along the way using the strategy they came up with when they first entered the headquarters. They checked the rooms they passed by and when they found the lab, Thor and Loki destroyed the machines responsible for creating the Cybers. This meant the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church no longer had the means to create more Cybers. The quartet continued venturing through the hallways, bypassing the most devoted members of the organization and destroying their Cybers until they found a door with the sign containing Dr. Erik Selvig's name.

"What is Dr. Selvig doing here?!" exclaimed Thor.

"They're keeping him prisoner here," explained Loki, "they forced him to create an amplifier for the Tesseract for them. Fortunately, he passed on the most essential truths of this organization to me when I went undercover."

Loki used his magic to unlock the door, allowing Thor to open it and step inside the room, which caught Erik Selvig's attention.

"Thor?" gasped Selvig.

"Are you all right?" asked Thor.

Thor pulled Erik Selvig into an embrace.

"Thank you so much for coming," smiled Selvig, "had you never come, they would've forced me to go through this torture called Bible Therapy."

"What's that?" paused Ivy.

"It's a procedure where they force you to study the Bible and pray," explained Loki, "and they inflict physical pain while showing you everyday activities and customs that are considered sinful to the organization."

"Such as homosexuality and science?" clarified Ivy.

Loki nodded just as Thor released Erik Selvig from his embrace.

"We should get him out of here," advised Thor.

"I'll continue the raid," offered Loki.

"By yourself?!" objected Thor.

"I'll be all right," assured Loki, "I survived torture from Thanos and I survived uncovering the truth undercover. Besides, I won't be alone."

"That's right," added Ivy, "because we'll be helping out."

"Agreed," agreed Phoebe.

"Take care," replied Thor.

Thor escorted Erik Selvig out of the room and they both headed for the exit of the building while Loki, Ivy and Phoebe continued venturing through the headquarters. After a while of fighting through Bible Cybers, they reached the main hall.

"This is crazy," groaned Ivy, "we can't find the Tesseract or Sara anywhere!"

Just then, Reverend Roberts walked in, catching Loki, Ivy and Phoebe's attention.

"You're too late," announced Reverend Roberts, "Sara and the Relic of God have already left for the destination."

"And what is that destination?" demanded Loki, aiming his scepter at Reverend Roberts.

"Do you expect me to reveal the location to a follower of Satan like you, Loki?" scoffed Reverend Roberts, "Sara told me of how you kidnapped our most loyal members and slaughtered them."

"That's nothing compared to the cruelty and terrorism you have committed!" snapped Loki.

"It's not terrorism," objected Reverend Roberts, "it's divine justice."

Just then, a bunch of Bible Cybers and Christian extremist soldiers carrying high tech guns entered the main hall.

"I was hoping that you would return, Loki," continued Reverend Roberts, "because we've been planning to send you to hell!"

The Cybers and the extremist soldiers aimed their weapons at Loki, Ivy and Phoebe, ready to fire. Suddenly…

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted Ebony from a distance.

A green light hit one of the extremist soldiers, instantly killing him. Seconds later, Ebony appeared.

"Ebony?!" exclaimed Ivy and Phoebe in unison.

"I hope you don't mind if I help out," replied Ebony, "after all, I did tell you of my special plan."

"You will not be committing a massacre," bellowed Reverend Roberts, pulling out a cross, "you vampiric traitor!"

Loki, Ebony, Ivy and Phoebe prepared for the fight of their lives, knowing that even if they couldn't find the Tesseract, they would still have to stop this extremist organization from taking over the world.


	32. Here Come the Avengers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel happy that I was able to write out this idea in just a short amount of time unlike my other fanfics. Just a few more chapters and this one will be finished. You can see that for this fanfic, I altered the plot for the 2012 Avengers movie; but that doesn't mean I'm making it official, even if it's a parody.

The extremist soldiers charged up their guns, but Loki used his magic to turn the guns into snakes, causing the soldiers to panic and stomp on the snakes. Ivy used her master-tech book to scan the Bible Cybers' lies and she used the matching text from her book to disarm the Cybers, allowing Loki to destroy them with his scepter one by one. Ebony used the killing curse to pluck out the extremist soldiers while Phoebe ducked for cover. However, more Bible Cybers and extremist soldiers kept pouring in while Reverend Roberts grabbed a wooden stake and a hammer.

"Just how many Bible Cybers are there?" muttered Ivy.

Ivy was about to use her master-tech book to scan another Bible Cyber's lie, but then one punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. She held onto her master-tech book tightly, not noticing the blood seeping out of the wound created on her forehead or the fact that the Bible Cyber was about to crush her with its foot. Not wanting her to die, Loki dived in and pulled Ivy out of the way before using his magic to heal her forehead.

"Are you all right?" asked Loki.

"I'm ok, now," smiled Ivy, "thanks, Loki."

Loki helped Ivy to her feet, allowing her to scan the Bible Cyber's lie and use a text from her master-tech book to disarm it. Loki then fired a beam from his scepter to destroy the Cyber. Ebony was about to cast another spell, but one of the extremist soldiers fired his gun at her, knocking her wand out of her hand. She was about to sprint over to retrieve it, but a Bible Cyber grabbed her from behind and held her tightly, causing her to struggle to free herself.

"Let go, you fucking lying machine!" snapped Ebony.

Reverend Roberts approached the Bible Cyber holding Ebony and plunged the wooden stake into her chest, killing her instantly as she crumbled to dust.

"Ebony," gasped Phoebe.

With Ebony gone, Loki and Ivy huddled together as Bible Cybers and extremist soldiers surrounded them. Suddenly, a vibranium shield knocked an extremist soldier to the ground while Iron Man flew into the scene and fired a beam at a Bible Cyber's weak point, effectively destroying it.

"Finally," chirped Ivy, "someone got the message!"

Iron Man, Captain America and Thor appeared before Loki and Ivy.

"Thanks for leading us to the headquarters, Reindeer Games," praised Iron Man.

"I never trusted this organization to begin with," explained Loki.

Just then, Black Widow and Hawkeye appeared, allowing them, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor to fight the Bible Cybers and extremist soldiers. With Ivy using her master-tech book to disarm the Bible Cybers, Loki used his scepter to destroy some. Once they cleared out the main hall, they surrounded Reverend Roberts, who flashed his cross at them as Phoebe emerged from her hiding spot.

"Stay back!" snapped Reverend Roberts.

Loki approached Reverend Roberts and placed the tip of his scepter on his chest, sending a surge of energy into the Reverend's chest that made his eyes turn black for a few seconds before returning to normal, except his irises were now ice blue.

"Now," demanded Loki, "tell us where the Tesseract is."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Sara is taking the Relic of God to Stark Tower in New York," confessed Reverend Roberts, "she has reinforcements that will break through its security system to set up the Relic of God."

"This is not good," muttered Iron Man.

"Thank you for your time," smirked Loki.

Loki took a step back, turned his head at the Avengers and nodded, allowing Captain America to knock Reverend Roberts unconscious with his shield.

"Let's just get out of here," suggested Captain America, "Director Fury will want to hear about this."

Once they all left the headquarters, agents of SHIELD began swarming the headquarters while the Avengers, Loki, Erik Selvig, Ivy and Phoebe boarded the Quinjet that flew to the helicarrier. Along the way, Iron Man introduced himself as Tony Stark, Captain America introduced himself as Steve Rogers, Hawkeye introduced himself as Clint Barton and Black Widow introduced herself as Natasha Romanoff. Once they disembarked the Quinjet, they headed inside to the conference room, where Director Fury and Bruce were waiting for them.

"So you finally found Loki?" said Nick.

"And two of the hostages," nodded Clint.

Nick Fury approached Loki, catching his attention.

"What became of the other hostages?" demanded Nick.

Ivy raised her hand, and then Nick Fury motioned her to approach him.

"Well," admitted Ivy, "he did force them to kill each other, but only because they were members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church. He made me and Phoebe the star detectives of his palace, meaning that we would investigate the murders that took place."

Nick Fury turned his head at Loki.

"So you killed most of the hostages because it was fun?" clarified Nick.

"I guess Loki is like Monokuma," commented Tony.

Loki turned his head at Tony and gave him a puzzled look.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," said Loki.

"What I meant is that you were inspired by Dangan Ronpa, right?" explained Tony.

"Uh, Mr. Stark," interrupted Ivy, "I don't think Loki played that game. He was probably inspired by something else."

"So, Ivy," asked Tony, "have you heard of Dangan Ronpa?"

"I watched a friend play it," nodded Ivy.

"Can we just not talk about video games and discuss about Loki's actions here?" reminded Nick Fury.

"Loki may have been beyond reason at some point," replied Thor, "but he's my brother."

"You flatter me, Thor," chuckled Loki.

Loki placed his scepter onto the table.

"So what else have you been doing with the hostages?" asked Nick.

"Well," answered Ivy, "Loki and I did bond over the course of the time I stayed at the palace. I was afraid of him at first, but it took some conversations to get rid of that fear."

"He hasn't fallen in love with you," paused Thor, "has he?"

Thor glanced at Loki.

"I may be intending to court with Ivy," admitted Loki.

Thor and Nick Fury burst into laughter.

"Did I say something funny?" asked Loki.

"You're not the only prince who fell in love with a human," replied Thor.

"Can I meet her?" clamored Ivy.

"Jane Foster was worried about Dr. Selvig when he disappeared," explained Nick.

"Where are they, now?" asked Selvig.

"I heard they were in the mess hall eating lunch," answered Nick, "you can join them if you want."

"Thank you," smiled Selvig.

Erik Selvig left the conference room.

"Loki did use that scepter of his to force Reverend Roberts to tell us where they're taking the Tesseract," said Steve, "I have a feeling that this guy chose Sara to lead an impending attack. I'm pretty sure God would not approve of such bigotry."

"Neither does Odin," added Loki, "I'm worried that Sara could end up bringing the Chitauri to Midgard with the Tesseract."

"Which is why we need to act quickly," replied Natasha.

"Right now," added Clint, "Sara is taking the Tesseract to New York; more specifically, Stark Tower."

"There's a chance that she could be there already," replied Phoebe.

"The Mighty Forces of the Holy Church probably targeted that tower because of the arc reactor," assumed Bruce.

"So here's the plan," proposed Tony, "we fly over to New York, I'll check the Stark Tower, and we find a way to stop Sara from activating the Tesseract."

"And if not," replied Loki, "I will have to use the scepter to shut off the amplifier."

"You can do that?" paused Ivy.

"In that case," agreed Steve, "we'll need to get Loki to Stark Tower."

"I must warn you that Sara has unusual power granted by the Tesseract," warned Loki, "and she would use it against any of you without warning."

Loki turned his head at Ivy and Phoebe.

"Even so," continued Loki, "these girls need better armor."

Ivy approached Loki and pulled him into an embrace.

"That's so thoughtful of you, Loki," smiled Ivy, "thanks!"

"You're welcome," replied Loki.

Loki returned the embrace and gently stroked Ivy's hair. After a moment of silence, he released her from his embrace, only to notice the Avengers smirking.

"If you're going to confess your love for Ivy," suggested Tony, "then just do it."

"That's none of your business!" snapped Loki, embarrassed.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Loki," assured Clint.

"How about some lunch for the big fight?" suggested Bruce, "I'm getting hungry."

"I approve of the suggestion," nodded Nick, "dismissed."

The Avengers, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe left the conference and headed for the mess room to serve themselves some lunch. After all, they can't just fight on an empty stomach.


	33. The Big Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've seen The Avengers, then you probably know how the battle of New York goes since I may not be the best at writing fight scenes. The only difference here is the inclusion of Loki, my OCs and Sara. Also, expect some Mary Sue bashing. (I'm looking at you, Sara!)

After lunch, the Avengers passed around ear pieces to use to communicate with one another. Ivy and Phoebe changed into SHIELD uniforms and bullet-proof vests before joining the Avengers and Loki at the Quinjet. However, Tony put on his mechanical suit and took off on his own while the others flew the Quinjet to New York. After a while of flight, Tony reached Stark Tower and could see a Christian extremist preparing the amplifier for activation on the roof.

"Sir," said Jarvis, "I shut down the arc reactor, but the Tesseract is self sustaining."

"Shut it down!" demanded Tony.

The Christian extremist glanced at Tony.

"I will not!" he barked, "soon, the army of God will send all the non-believers to hell!"

"Fine," sighed Tony.

Tony fired two beams at the amplifier, but a barrier blocked the attack and triggered an explosion that knocked Tony away. Fortunately, he managed to steady himself.

"Sir," said Jarvis, "the shield is made of pure energy. It's probably impenetrable."

Tony glanced down at Sara, who was standing at the balcony. Without hesitation, he landed on the balcony.

"Are you here to join the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church?" asked Sara.

"No," answered Tony, "but you can thank Loki for locating the headquarters for us. Besides, do you think the Chitauri will listen to your organization's wishes?"

"The army of God will send you to hell!" spat Sara.

"Can we just not talk about your religious crap?" sighed Tony, "I'm here to talk about you pissing off the Avengers; including two demi-gods, my genius self, the Hulk, a super soldier, two aspiring detectives and a couple of master assassins. You managed to piss off every single one of them."

"And none of you are on the side of God," countered Sara, "and that's why you will lose!"

"Not if the Chitauri somehow come after you," replied Tony.

"They'll be too busy fighting you," growled Sara.

Suddenly, Sara activated her final smash, which turned her into an angel. Tony's mechanical suit quickly scanned her.

"Sir," said Jarvis, "I believe Sara contains the same energy as the Tesseract."

"Uh-oh," stuttered Tony.

Sara fired holy beams that knocked Tony off the balcony, but he quickly activated his thrusters to keep himself from falling to his death. Just then, he noticed the Tesseract launching a beam into the sky and opening a portal. Seconds later, Chitauri forces emerged from the portal and began attacking the city. Moments later, the Quinjet arrived and made its landing, letting Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Loki, Ivy and Phoebe disembark. At the same time, they could see Sara take off at a distance.

"Now she did it," commented Phoebe.

"We need to clear a path for Loki to reach the tower," suggested Thor.

"But we also need to keep the Chitauri from killing too many civilians," added Steve.

"I'll back up Loki," offered Ivy, "I may not be an expert at combat, but I'll manage."

"Bruce," said Steve, "I think it's time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret," smirked Bruce, "I'm always angry."

Bruce instantly transformed into the Incredible Hulk and punched at an incoming Chitauri leviathan carrier. Tony responded by firing a missile at its weak spot, triggering an explosion that killed it.

"Be careful, Loki," advised Thor.

Ivy pulled out her pistol and led Loki through the streets as the Avengers and Phoebe charged into battle. The Hulk and Thor jumped onto a Chitauri leviathan carrier and plunged the pieces of armor into its flesh. Steve, Phoebe Natasha and Clint would shoot at Chitauri soldiers while Tony took out the Chitauri on chariots. During the race toward Stark Tower, Loki and Ivy fought through Chitauri soldiers while avoiding the collateral damage and rubble tossed up by the invaders. Loki managed to take down a Chitauri soldier on a chariot, sending the chariot crashing into the ground.

"Do you think we can use this?" asked Ivy.

"I don't see why we can't try," answered Loki.

Loki and Ivy hopped onto the chariot and took off, flying toward Stark Tower, but there were other Chitauri chariots in the way, so they had to dodge them. Ivy held onto Loki while she fired her pistol at some Chitauri soldiers on chariots. Thor teleported to a tower and launched lightning bolts at Chitauri soldiers that emerged from the portal. Steve managed to kill off a few Chitauri soldiers before they could use an explosive to kill off trapped civilians. While Loki flew the chariot toward Stark Tower, he suddenly noticed Sara flying behind them while firing holy beams at them, forcing him to dodge the beams.

"Hawkeye," called Ivy, "we have a problem!"

On the roof of a building, Clint could see Sara pursuing Loki and Ivy. He pulled out an arrow and aimed it at Sara.

"Don't worry, I got her," assured Clint.

Clint fired the arrow at Sara, but she caught it in midair. Moments later, the arrow exploded, knocking Sara onto the balcony at Stark Tower while Loki and Ivy jumped off the chariot and landed on the roof near the amplifier. Sara could feel her final smash deactivating, so she staggered to her feet and tried to activate it again, but before she could do so, the Hulk jumped onto the balcony and knocked her through the window, sending her slamming into a wall. The Hulk began charging at Sara as she staggered to her feet, and then…

"Stay back!" shouted Sara, "you'll never win because my powers come from God! God will send all the lesbians and gays to—"

The Hulk ignored Sara's rant as he grabbed her and slammed her into the ground a few times. He slammed her into the ground and left her there, which knocked her unconscious as he walked away.

"Puny girl," muttered the Hulk.

Meanwhile, Loki flipped up the computer as Ivy pierced the scepter through the barrier.

"You're right," said Ivy, "I can close this!"

"Do it," instructed Steve over the com-link.

"Wait," paused Tony over the com-link, "Director Fury just told me that there's a nuke about to blow up the city."

Just then, Tony intercepted the missile heading straight toward Manhattan while the other Avengers continued to fight the Chitauri. He grabbed ahold of the missile and guided it so it missed Stark Tower, and he carried it over through the portal. Moments later, Tony let go, turning off his thrusters and he fell through the portal. The missile destroyed the Chitauri mothership as the Hulk leapt up and caught Tony.

"Now, Ivy," announced Loki.

Upon cue, Ivy used the scepter to shut off the amplifier, closing the portal. On the ground, the Avengers noticed the destruction of the mothership instantly caused the remaining Chitauri soldiers to collapse. The Hulk placed Tony on the ground, allowing Steve and Thor to gather around him. It turned out that the playboy genius was unconscious, so the Hulk let out a roar that jerked him awake.

"Please don't tell me any of you kissed me!" exclaimed Tony.

"You're fine, Tony," assured Steve.

Some time later at the tower, Sara regained consciousness and began staggering to her feet, only to notice Steve, Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Clint and Thor looming over her while Loki, Ivy and Phoebe kept their distance.

"You'd better come up with a better excuse than just your religious propaganda," warned Tony.

"It's not propaganda," spat Sara, "everything the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church says is a thousand percent true!"

"You just haven't heard the other side of the story," replied Thor.


	34. The Grand Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the ending is rather sappy, I apologize for that. Now that I finished this fanfic, you can decide whether this is the Avengers equivalent of My Immortal or not. If, for some reason, you think Ivy is a Mary Sue, then this is a spoof of a Mary Sue fanfic. I have no intentions of making a sequel of this fanfic, so you can imagine how the Marvel Cinematic Universe progresses while coinciding with this fanfic on your own. Also, you can find some reference images of my characters and the Mary Sues here: https://www.pinterest.com/erinprimette/the-palace-of-chaos/

A couple days later, Loki managed to use his magic to extract the Tesseract's power from Sara while she was sedated. After that, the Avengers handed her over to SHIELD for impending therapy while Director Fury exposed the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church as a threat to the United States, which elicited Congress to defund the organization and blocked its donations, which effectively shut it down. Steve did mention that there will still be extremists from many religions, so the best the Avengers could do is keep an eye out for any extremists or anyone that dares to cause trouble.

At the moment, Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha and Clint accompanied Jane, Loki, Thor, Ivy and Phoebe to Central Park while the Asgardians held the Tesseract in a tubular container.

"You'll return, right?" asked Jane.

"Perhaps," answered Thor.

Thor and Jane pulled each other into an embrace and held it for a few moments. After that, they released her embrace, and Jane waved goodbye before she took several steps back.

"So you already said goodbye to her?" asked Loki.

"Yes," nodded Thor.

Loki turned his head at Ivy.

"Will I ever see you again?" clamored Ivy, anxiety trembling in her voice.

"I'll talk to Odin about it," assured Loki.

"Tell him I said hi, ok?" advised Ivy.

Nodding in agreement, Loki pulled Ivy into an embrace.

"Aww," cooed Clint, "they make such a cute couple."

"Yeah," replied Natasha, "for a mischievous god and a detective."

"So who's going to help with the wedding plans?" asked Tony.

"I don't think they're ready for that type of commitment, yet," answered Steve.

Loki released Ivy from his embrace, allowing her to give him a kiss.

"Did you give Optimus that message?" asked Ivy.

"Of course I did," nodded Loki, "he is taking some time to mourn, but it will be a while before he moves on with his mentor."

"Yeah," stammered Ivy, "I don't get the teacher/student relationships here."

"Neither do I," agreed Loki.

Thor held out the tubular container, compelling Loki to grab one of its handles.

"I suppose this is goodbye," said Loki.

Loki turned the handle, activating the Tesseract which teleported him and Thor to Asgard. Once they arrived at the palace, they handed the Tesseract to the guards, who took it to the vault for safekeeping. Odin then summoned his sons to the hall.

"Heimdall told me of your endeavors at Midgard," said Odin, "and I am proud of both of you. You managed to stop an organization full of bigots from taking over Midgard with some help. I suppose they won't be able to invade Asgard."

"Thank you, father," smiled Thor.

Odin glanced at Loki.

"Ivy asked me to tell you that she said hello," said Loki.

"I acknowledge it," replied Odin, "but I can't fathom why you two appear to be so close."

Loki glanced at both Thor and Odin in a moment of silence before taking a deep breath.

"I may have intended to court with Ivy," admitted Loki.

"Were you?" mused Odin, "so you, too, are following your brother's footsteps for falling for a mortal."

"Do you disapprove?" asked Loki.

"You do realize that Ivy will not be around forever?" inquired Odin, "would you be willing to accept the heartbreak when she passes?"

Loki took a few moments to think over the question. He did agree with the point Odin addressed to him. Maybe this was something to discuss with Ivy.

"Should I marry her," answered Loki, "I would be willing to let her live on in the form of memories."

"Same here for Jane," added Thor.

"Wise choice," agreed Odin, "there were some Asgardians that have grown too attached to their mortals to let go. And once I retire, I will be leaving the throne to both of you. I hope you two can rule Asgard better."

"We won't let you down, father," smiled Thor.

"You may go, now," replied Odin.

Thor and Loki left the Hall of Asgard and headed for the garden to talk of the time they spent together during their childhood.

* * *

A month later, Loki returned to Midgard to reunite with Ivy at the same time her parents came over to visit. At the moment, they were getting the apartment for her parents' arrival, so Loki used his magic to help organize the apartment better, much to Ivy and Phoebe's relief. The girls still had to clean the bathroom and vacuum the carpet. Now that the apartment was ready, Phoebe popped in a Bluray disk and played Avatar while Loki read Ivy's story.

"So what became of the palace?" asked Phoebe.

"Odin sent some Thor and some more Asgardians to preserve the palace," answered Loki, "hopefully, it would be better than when I refurbished it."

Ivy pulled out her identification tablet and browsed through it.

"Do you think I should use this to identify myself should I visit Asgard?" clamored Ivy.

"I'm sure the Asgardians will recognize you right away," smirked Loki.

Ivy nodded in agreement. Minutes later, they heard the door knock, so Ivy sprinted to the door and opened it, revealing Ivy's parents and Phoebe's dad.

"Hey, dad!" called Ivy.

"Hiya, kiddo," chirped Ivy's dad, "how are you doing?"

"Just fine," answered Ivy, "we were waiting for you. Come on in!"

Ivy led her parents and Phoebe's dad into the apartment and into the living room, catching Phoebe and Loki's attention.

"So those are your parents?" asked Loki.

"I thought Phoebe was a lesbian," objected Ivy's mom.

"She's still a lesbian," assured Ivy, "besides, that's my new boyfriend, Loki."

"As in," paused Ivy's dad, "the Norse God of Mischief?"

"Yeah," admitted Ivy.

Phoebe stood from the couch and pulled her dad into an embrace.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you, sweetheart," smiled Phoebe's dad.

"Same here," replied Phoebe.

Phoebe released her dad from an embrace.

"How could you be so sure he won't pull a prank on us?" asked Ivy's mom.

"I have no guarantee that he wouldn't," answered Ivy.

Loki couldn't help but chuckle while Ivy's dad glanced at the TV screen.

"Ivy," moaned Ivy's dad, "you didn't tell me you were watching Avatar!"

"Sorry, dad," blurted Ivy, "it must've slipped."

"Where do you keep the popcorn?" asked Phoebe's dad.

"Aren't we going out to eat after this movie is over?" objected Phoebe.

"You're right," agreed Phoebe's dad, "we shouldn't spoil our appetite."

"Can we start the movie over?" requested Ivy's dad.

"Sure thing," nodded Ivy.

Ivy restarted the movie as her parents and Phoebe's dad sat down to watch the movie. Ivy sat next to Loki and they both continued reading through her story together. Once the movie was over, Loki placed a bookmark in Ivy's notebook before putting it away.

"I'm quite impressed with your story so far," smiled Loki.

"Thanks, Loki," chirped Ivy.

"Ok," announced Ivy's dad, "are you going to get ready to head out for dinner?"

"We'll get ready," replied Phoebe.

"How does Ruby Tuesday sound?" suggested Ivy's mom.

"That sounds great!" nodded Ivy.

Once Ivy and Phoebe slipped their shoes on, they led Loki, Ivy's parents and Phoebe's dad out of the apartment and into Ivy's dad's car. Ivy drove to Ruby Tuesday and then they hopped out and stepped into the restaurant. Once they sat at a table, Ivy ordered baked ravioli, Loki tried out the grilled salmon, Phoebe had 'bella mushroom sirloin, Phoebe's dad ordered the chicken fresco and Ivy's parents ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich and the chicken and broccoli pasta. Since they were waiting for their orders, they figured it would be a good time to strike up a conversation.

"Didn't you pull that stunt of abducting the most loyal members of the Mighty Forces of the Holy Church?" objected Ivy's dad.

"I know what I did," replied Loki, "and I learned my lesson."

"So what are you planning on doing, now?" asked Ivy's mom.

"Essentially preparing my mind for diplomatic measures," answered Loki.

"That's good to hear," chirped Ivy, "Director Fury reserved a nice position where I could start my career as a detective."

"That's good to hear," smiled Loki.

"Thanks," replied Ivy.

After only a while of conversing, the waiter arrived with the food, so everyone started eating. While they were eating, Ivy, Phoebe, their parents and Loki exchanged stories of life in Asgard as well as some stories of Ivy and Phoebe's childhood.

"You still haven't found a girlfriend yet?" asked Ivy.

"No," answered Phoebe, "but it would just take some time."

"Well, I'll be rooting for you!" chirped Ivy.

Once they finished eating, they made the payment and left the restaurant after leaving a tip. They hopped into the car and drove back to the apartment, where Ivy, Phoebe and Loki disembarked.

"We'll be heading back to the hotel, now," sang Ivy's dad, "would you like to go see a movie tomorrow?"

"That would be great!" nodded Ivy, "can Loki come along?"

"Yes, he can," answered Ivy's dad.

Ivy's dad focused his eyes on Loki.

"You're going to take good care of her, right?" asked Ivy's dad.

"I won't let any harm come to her, not even from myself," assured Loki, "even when I'm away."

"Good," replied Ivy's dad, "just keep it that way. We'll see you in the morning."

Ivy's parents drove themselves and Phoebe's dad back into the hotel, compelling Ivy, Phoebe and Loki to step back into the apartment. While Ivy grabbed her notebook from the living room, Phoebe stepped into her room to change into her pajamas. When Ivy stepped into her room, she noticed her bedroom floor was covered in garter snakes.

"What…how did the snakes get into my room?!" exclaimed Ivy.

Ivy could hear Loki bursting into laughter nearby. Could he have conjured the snakes? Sighing, she stepped into her room and began picking up the snakes, hoping to keep one as a pet while she released the others outside. However, Loki flicked his hands, causing all the snakes in Ivy's room to disappear.

"Hey," snapped Ivy, "I was starting to like these snakes!"

"I was just playing with you," smirked Loki.

"I noticed," remarked Ivy, "you could've just let me keep one as a pet."

"You like snakes?" paused Loki.

"Yeah," nodded Ivy, "because they're cool. I would really love to have a snake as a pet."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Loki.

"Thanks!" chirped Ivy, "you're so special to me."

Ivy pulled Loki into and embrace and gave him a kiss as a form of affection.

"I love you, too, Ivy," smiled Loki.

Ivy and Loki stepped into the bedroom and changed into their pajamas, and then they climbed into the bed.

"Want to know something funny?" asked Ivy.

"What's that?" pondered Loki.

"The story I've written in high school and Avatar have a similar plotline," explained Ivy, "except it's a gender flip for the main heroes and the humans in my story don't have the necessary technology to travel into space yet."

"So how does it end?" inquired Loki.

"You'll have to read through the rest of the story to find out," suggested Ivy.

"I accept your challenge," smirked Loki.

Loki and Ivy continued to read through the story while huddling together. They may have gone through some tough times, but at least they would work out their relationship in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Now if you'll excuse me, I'd better go help Loki catch that Monokuma.


End file.
